A week of anniversaries: Time Out Chicago, Chicago, Playboy Clubs

Playboy Club Chicago

It just hit me the other day as we were celebrating five years of Time Out Chicago at Nacional 27 amidst fans of Time Out and fans of drinking for free (the event was open to the public with R.S.V.P.). This is a week of anniversaries on top of anniversaries. Our mag's look back on our first five years, Chicago itself—the Chicago History Museum cut the cake for the city's 173rd birthday yesterday, and then there's Playboy Clubs. Playboy will celebrate tje fiftieth anniversary year of the clubs and bunnies (the clubs launched February 29, 1960 in Chicago) with parties, commemorative gear (I'm eyeing the "commemorative glassware") and a Playboy exhibit at Pittsburgh's Warhol Museum (kicking off March 27). On June 10, Playboy will host 50 Playboy Club parties in 50 cities, all held on the same night, around the world.

Perhaps there's something about March in Chicago that inspires optimism and new beginnings. Or maybe its just that Chicagoans tend to save their big plans for the new year until the sun comes out and big melt sets in.