Author: Sarahlynn Pablo

Writer, poet, being. Filipinx, diasporic. Peregrina 🐚. She/her. Agyamanak.
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What is Chicago Street Art

While we were visiting different places around Chicago, Flat Stanlina noticed that some buildings and street signs had interesting and colorful designs placed on them, either with paint or stickers. Some were like giant paintings or murals. Some looked like real life and others were like cartoons. She asked me what these are.

We went to see an exhibit about Street Art, “Paint Paste Sticker” at the Chicago Cultural Center. Street Art is a form of visual art made where people in public can see it – on buildings, sidewalks, signs and other public areas.

The artists are not usually trained in art schools. People make street art for different reasons: to make people laugh, to spread a message, to be seen or heard, to make others think, among others.

Sometimes the artists have permission to create their art on spaces owned by other people. The exhibit showed some examples of public art projects that the local government, street artists, homeowners and business owners worked on together.  Continue reading “What is Chicago Street Art”

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Puppet Bike, Chicago’s one and only!

“What’s Puppet Bike?” asked Flat Stanlina.

It’s a one of kind in Chicago. Puppet Bike is a miniature puppet stage built on a bicycle. Because it’s built on a bicycle, the puppeteer (the person inside the stage) can perform just about anywhere the bicycle can go. I’ve seen the Puppet Bike perform in different places around Chicago in all kinds of weather, and I’ve always stopped to watch, even for a little while. Puppet Bike always brings a smile to my face. Flat Stanlina agreed.

Continue reading “Puppet Bike, Chicago’s one and only!”

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Chicago History Museum with Flat Stanlina

One day, we took Flat Stanlina to the Chicago History Museum.

At the Chicago History Museum we learned many things about the city’s history. It is believed the name of the city, Chicago, came from a leek (a type of onion) that grows wild in this area that the Native Americans called Chicagou. We even smelled the onion!

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We learned about the Great Chicago Fire. In October 1871, a very large, terrible fire that lasted three days destroyed much of the city. Hundreds of people even died, and hundreds of thousands of people became homeless after the fire. Stories say that a cow accidentally started the fire when it kicked over a lantern in a barn.

Actually, they don’t really know what exactly started the fire. But a lot of different reasons contributed to why the fire was so big. In those days, the houses in Chicago were made of wood and were built very close together. Even the streets were paved with wood, instead of asphalt or concrete like they are today. There were few firefighters in a city as big as Chicago was. The few firefighters did not have good equipment. In the months before the fire, that summer there was a drought, meaning that it rained fewer times than in normal years. As a result, everything was very dry and burned easily. Continue reading “Chicago History Museum with Flat Stanlina”

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Chicago’s Holiday Train

“How do you get to work, Ate Sarah?” asked Flat Stanlina. (The word ‘ate’ in Filipino means ‘older sister.’ It’s pronounced like AH-tay.)

“I usually take public transportation — a bus and then a train.” I showed Flat Stanlina this video of my train ride to work. Listen to the safety instructions, and watch for the very tall buildings or skyscrapers in the distance towards the end of the video. You’ll see there’s snow everywhere!

Continue reading “Chicago’s Holiday Train”