FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contacts:
Michelle Gonzalez, mgonzalez@choosechicago.com
Katie Papadopoulos, katie@letssipp.com
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Free pop-up tours will be part of Choose Chicago’s tourism initiative highlighting the architecture, culture, and history of the city’s diverse neighborhoods
Chicago, IL – June 28, 2022 –Choose Chicago has launched a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Chicago Greeters program with an InstaGreeter pop-up tour series. Operating now through Labor Day weekend, the new series will feature free one- to two-hour neighborhood walks, with departures on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Each tour will showcase the best of Chicago’s history, architecture, and culture across 20 participating neighborhoods, including Pilsen, Chinatown, Bronzeville, Lakeview, West Ridge, Hyde Park, Jackson Park, and many more.
The InstaGreeter pop-up tours are the latest initiative designed for those who want to experience Chicago like a local. The original in-person Greeter tours are personalized visits led by friendly locals that are customized according to visitors’ interests and available in over a dozen languages; the self-guided Greeter tours feature curated virtual tours designed by local experts to highlight each neighborhood’s uniqueness, and the InstaGreeter downtown tours offer locals and visitors a chance to discover the highlights of Chicago’s downtown neighborhoods.
”Chicago’s neighborhoods are one of the city’s greatest treasures,” said Lynn Osmond, President & CEO of Choose Chicago. “The opportunity to see and feel the diversity and vibrancy of our communities on a sidewalk level cannot be matched. The Chicago Greeter Program offers our guests, from near and far, the chance to have authentic, personal experiences.”
The Chicago Greeter program relaunched July 2021 with walks in Chicago’s downtown Loop neighborhood. This year, the pop-up event expands to more locations for locals and visitors to explore. The Chicago Greeter program, which originally launched in 2001, has shown how the downtown and neighborhoods throughout the city have remained just as vibrant today with bustling cafes, restaurants, museums, public art, and more.
The Greeter concept began in New York as Big Apple Greeter, founded and conceptualized by Lynn Brooks in 1992. The program was designed as a way for local residents to share their passion and stories about their home city. The popularity of Big Apple Greeter inspired the creation of Chicago Greeter, with a soft launch in 2001 in collaboration with United and American Airlines and the official launch in April 2002. Over the past 20 years, Chicago Greeters has thrived with the support of Chicago’s hospitality, education, park district, transportation, and tourism industry partners.
As the program celebrates 20 years in 2022, Chicago Greeters is celebrating the program’s milestone anniversary with the InstaGreeter Pop Up series of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Find additional information and a full schedule of Chicago Greeter programs and the pop-up series.
Follow @chicagogreeter and Choose Chicago on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on this special anniversary tour series. #chicagogreeter
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About Choose Chicago
Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city and its member business community. Follow @chicagogreeter and @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and tag #ChicaGOandKNOW. For more information, visit www.choosechicago.com.
