This year, the Columbia Heights High School (CHHS) AP Art, Concert Band and Concert Choir students had the opportunity to go on a trip to Chicago, Illinois for five days. Trip Advisors included Caitlin DiSalvi, Sarah Honeywell, Nicholas Hollermann, Todd Wynne and Ben Hanson. The trip consisted of university visits, art museums, many entertainment spots and popular tourist attractions. 

The early morning mostly consisted of getting ready to depart for the full-day road trip. The first stop was the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. Students had the opportunity to tour the college, explore campus and get insight from their arts department. AP Art students had a chance to see live art classes in session while Concert Band students played a clinic, having the chance to perform their pieces with Eau Claire students. Concert Choir students also had a clinic, getting the opportunity to workshop with the Eau Claire choir director. Afterward, the group stopped at Oakwood Mall for lunch, where they got some time to wander and fuel up. The University of Wisconsin—Madison was the final visit of the day. After exploring the spacious campus, students stopped at the Chazen Museum of Art to admire the many art pieces they had on display. Finally, they were back on the road to Chicago, ending the day by checking into the hotel. 

“The trip was an awesome experience! I got to see the [university] options for me in the future as a band and choir student,” Zoe Zuehlke (11) said, “I also made new friends and connected more with the people around.” 

The next day, the students traveled downtown to the Museum of Contemporary Art, sightseeing all the more recent art installations. From there, they went to the Senn School of Arts, a local public high school that focuses on all forms of artistic expression. Hylanders saw how their classes function and watched several interesting performances. Then, they traveled to Navy Pier for a quick bite of food before their two-hour City Highlights Tour. For dinner, they got to experience the famous Ed Debevic’s, a retro-style restaurant where the waiters are known to be humorously standoffish. They ended the night at ComedySportz, watching competitive and fun games played by the stand-up comedians. 

“One highlight from our arts trip to Chicago was our visit to Senn Arts Magnet High School in Chicago Public Schools.” Choir Teacher and Trip Advisor, Hollermann said,  “As a teacher, it was exciting to see our students interact with other high school arts students through singing, playing, and conversations about art making.”

After an hour at a roller skating spot called The Rink, students enjoyed about three hours of free time to go shopping and explore the city. Everyone came together at the Bean, a massive silver sculpture located in Millennium Park, to take a group picture. They then departed on their bus to the Art Institute of Chicago for an hour-long self-guided tour. Distinguished historical pieces of art such as “American Gothic” by Grant Wood and “Self-Portrait” by Vincent van Gough were a sight to behold. After a whole day of walking around the city, staff and students dined on Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s. The whole group then left to attend Chicago’s Symphony Orchestra and enjoy the performance of Tetzlaff Plays Sibelius featuring a well-regarded conductor’s take on the Finnish composer’s orchestral works. 

Early in the morning, students departed for downtown Chicago and enjoyed a self-guided tour at the Shedd Aquarium, where they also got to see a 4D aquatic show about penguins. They walked to the neighboring building to visit the Field Museum of Natural History too, where they had free time to explore the galleries and exhibitions. Fun fact: the largest Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur ever discovered, and the most complete with 90% of the fossils being found, is housed in this museum. Later, they left on the bus and arrived at Drury Lane Dinner Theater to have dinner and attend the showing of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” about the famed 1970s singer-songwriter.

“I would have to say that my favorite part of the trip was the Carol King Show.”  Marco Saltos Alvarado (11) said, “It incorporated every form of art that the trip was about, plus it was very entertaining and interesting learning about Carol King.”

On the last day, students loaded their luggage back on the bus and checked out. The bus ride back to Columbia Heights was nearly seven hours. After a pit stop in Eau Claire to eat at the Oakdale Mall once more for lunch, they arrived back at CHHS in the afternoon. Everyone came back in one piece and core memories were formed. Overall the trip consisted of  lots of new experiences, group bonding and fun times.