Mayfest marks the official start to summer festival season. Credit: Mike Fourcher

After a taste of August back in March, Chicagoans are primed for summer festival season. Along comes Lincoln Square’s Mayfest (aka, Maifest), May 31 – June 3, to kick things off in style.

For a classic Mayfest experience, grab a beer and nosh on sausage and jumbo pretzels while enjoying the oom-pah-pah sounds of the Polkaholics. Hang on to your commemorative plastic mug and do it all again the next day.

Highlights include Friday’s traditional keg tapping and May Queen crowning at 8 p.m., German-American cultural programming on Sunday, and the Jesse White Tumblers. A complete schedule of events can be found here.

The festival takes place at the intersection of Lincoln and Leland (4700 N. Lincoln Ave.). Hours are: Thursday, May 31, 5 – 9:30 p.m.; Friday, June 1, 5 – 10 p.m.; Saturday, June 2, noon – 11 p.m.; Sunday, June 3, noon – 10 p.m.

LM Restaurant. Credit: Victoria Wiedel

This year’s Taste of Chicago may be a five-day, fireworks-free shadow of its former self, but as a culinary event, it just got a little more interesting.

Recognizing that turkey legs, fried dough and corn on a stick might not be the tastes that actual Chicagoans associate with their city’s dining scene, organizers of this year’s festival have broadened the list of participating food vendors by including a number of neighborhood eateries as pop-up restaurants. Three single-day pop-ups will rotate into the lineup each day during the Taste, which runs July 11 – 15 in Grant Park.

Look for Lincoln Square’s French gastro bistro, LM Restaurant, 4539 N. Lincoln Ave., on July 13; the Beat Kitchen on July 11; Tre Kronor on July 12; and the Austrian Bakery on July 14.

The complete list of pop-ups can be found here.

Metra train. Credit: Flickr/vxla

A fatality occurred this afternoon as a Metra train struck a passenger shortly before 4:30 p.m. at the Lawrence/Ravenswood station. A Metra spokesman had no information regarding the identity of the victim or the circumstances surrounding the incident.

UP North train #335 left downtown at 4:15 p.m., due into Kenosha at 5:39 p.m. According to the spokesman, it was not scheduled to stop at Ravenswood.

All traffic was halted on the tracks; one of two tracks was reopened by 6 p.m., with significant delays expected for several hours.

A training session at the Lincoln Square Fencing Club. Credit: Jason Kreke

Robyn Mertel didn’t start fencing until she was 40 years old. “It’s good exercise and an unusual sport,” she said. “It’s a great sport to keep you healthy and keep your mind young.”

Though fencing might conjure up images of the Three Musketeers shouting “En Garde,” Mertel and her daughter practice the sport at the Lincoln Square Fencing Club, founded in 2008 by Clinton Smith, who rents space in the basement of Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W. Wilson Ave. The club offers classes to adults and children, teaching the rules, strategies and techniques of fencing. Although the modern version is decidedly more padded, safe and electronic than the sport was back in its dueling days, fencing still maintains its sense of formality and tradition.

Often called a physical game of chess, fencing features attack and counterattack, steadily getting to know an opponent before making a successful strike. As a sport, it requires as much agility as it does focus.

“A lot of it is finding a person’s telltale sign,” said Mertel. “You get to know your opponent, like bluffing in poker.”

In addition to the mental aspects, fencing is a very physical sport. The club frequently conducts conditioning sessions across the street at Waters Elementary, where the monkey bars are used for pull-ups. It’s this combination of mind and body that draws many fencers to the sport, regardless of age, according to Smith, who’s also the lead instructor at LSFC.

“There are specific moves, but how you execute it is up to you,” he said. “Each time that you fight, there is a high degree of attention required. Lose focus for a second and you get hit.”

Smith took up fencing when he was in junior high school and started coaching in 1997. He moved from Maine to Chicago in 2003, and founded the Lincoln Square Fencing Club in 2008. Looking for a place close to home to hold classes, he approached Luther Memorial and asked to use the church’s basement. Most of the students are drawn from the surrounding neighborhood.

Though fencing has a large following in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, the sport is still relatively unknown in Chicago, where its supporters are concentrated in a small, tight-knit community. “It’s becoming more popular in high school,” Smith said. “Coaches are trying to grow the sport, and we encourage kids to bring in their friends.”

One of the reasons fencing may be gaining ground with elementary and high school students is the emphasis on concentration and strategy, combined with physical exertion.

“One of the students that we had started taking lessons and became more focused,” said Sara Schroder, an assistant at the club who helps teach children’s classes. The student was struggling in school, but her grades improved after joining the club.

Fencing benefits its older practitioners as well. “I knew a guy who was 76 and fencing,” Mertel said. “Fencing adjusts to all ages. It is more thinking than a lot of other sports.”

Modern fencing traces its roots to the 19th Century. Originally created for dueling between aristocratic gentleman, fencing continued as a sport with tournaments and championships; modern U.S. fencing clubs were established in the 1880s. Today, electronic machines keep track of scores and dueling has long since been abandoned, but echoes of the earlier tradition remain: For example, the fencing strip or “piste” replicates the field of combat in confined quarters such as a castle hallway, and each match starts with a salute.

There are three weapons used in modern fencing: the foil, sabre and épée. (Even though the tip of the fencing weapon is the second-fastest moving object in sport, after the marksman’s bullet, Schroder noted that the sport is extremely safe with few injuries.) The Lincoln Square Fencing Club focuses on the foil and sabre, which emphasize hits to the upper torso. In foil dueling, only contact with the tip of the sword counts as a hit; in saber dueling, points can be scored with the edges or sides of the blade, creating a more fast-paced duel.

The combination of rapid sword play with back-and-forth strategy makes fencing difficult to master, and even though the footwork can be awkward, Smith says it’s a life-long learning process that allows anyone at any age to enhance their analytical and physical skills. Plus, the romantic associations with the Three Musketeers and the gentleman’s rules of dueling still exist. Said Schroder: “When I tell people I fence, they always say, ‘That’s really cool.’”

The Lincoln Square Fencing Club meets Monday, Thursday and Saturday at Luther Memorial Church. For more information, visit the club’s website.

Maurice "El Oso" Nores, last year's amateur champ in action. Credit: Donna Shultz.

Think you’ve got what it takes to go gut to gut with professional competitive eaters? Enter the Ribfest Amateur Rib-Eating Contest, set for Thursday, June 7, 6:30 p.m. at Black Rock Pub and Kitchen, 3614 N. Damen Ave. The winner advances to the big show, RibMania, on June 8.

Last year’s champ, Maurice “El Oso” Nores, mowed down 33 ribs in the time allotted, smoking the competition. If you want to challenge The Bear, you’d better start stretching your stomach now.

The first 10 applicationswill be accepted, with the next five designated as alternates. The remaining applicants will be wait-listed. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

The just-released list of headliners for the two-day fest, set for July 13 – 14, includes the Chicago-based pop-rock band The Bad Examples; Too White Crew, the self-described “old skool hip hop party band”; and Justin Roberts, who’s basically catnip for five-year-olds. Perennial favorites, the Trinity Irish Dancers, are also scheduled to appear.

Proceeds benefit St. Benedict Catholic Church, 2215 W. Irving Park Rd., and the parish’s schools. The church continues to raise funds for the $1.3 million restoration of its bell tower; work was completed in 2011 but St. Ben’s has only collected 45 percent of that total, according to BenFest marketing chairperson, Holly Tajak-Edlund.

Organizers are still finalizing food and beverage vendors and continue to add to the entertainment lineup.

HGTV has wrapped up a recent production shoot in Chicago and apparently everything. must. go. By Thursday. If you’re in the market for furniture (ranging from vintage to office), paint, rugs, bolts of fabric, bar stools, cabinets, lamps or a host of other items, get yourself to 4410 N. Ravenswood Ave., May 24, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (enter building via rear loading dock).

Sales are cash and carry only; be sure to have plenty of small bills on hand and a way to cart away your treasures. Oh, and anyone planning on using this as their audition for reality TV stardom, organizers note the event will not be filmed.

Join world record ukulele attempt in Welles Park. Credit: Courtesy of Festival of Aloha

The ukulele seems to have finally recovered from the insult that was Tiny Tim. Now this cousin to the guitar is ready for its moment in the spotlight: a Guinness World Record attempt for largest ukulele lesson.

As part of the Festival of Aloha, the lesson will attempt to assemble the largest number of ukulele players in one place; the current record is 1,378. Bring your instrument to Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave., May 26, and gather around the gazebo no later than 2:30 p.m. The lesson will last approximately 30 minutes. Sticklers at Guinness insist that participants hang around for the entire lesson in order to be counted toward the record.

Lanialoha Lee will lead musicians in learning “E Huli M?kou.” All you brown-nosers out there can study a copy of the sheet music in advance, though no extra credit points will be awarded.

The free lesson is open to all ages and all levels of ability, from beginner to advanced – to be part of history, registration is recommended but no talent is required.

In that long, mouthwatering, stomach-stretching run-up to Ribfest Chicago, we’re preparing you with the deets on who’s going to be serving up the food. Last year’s menu had over 30 vendors, this year there’s 36, with more “non-rib” offerings to cleanse your palate for the next round.

Check here for a complete list of food vendor menus and details on each restaurant.

Ravenswood Walkathon. Credit: Sarah Tilotta

If there’s a cuter event than the Ravenswood Elementary Walkathon, held last week, we’ve yet to come across it. Picture five-, six- and seven-year-olds scampering around a playground track for the better part of an hour, holding hands in the unselfconscious way that children have and dancing and laughing with far too much energy for 9 a.m., sans caffeine boost.

Oh, and they raised $14,000 while they were at it.

“It’s really heartwarming to know there’s this investment,” said Ravenswood Principal Heather Connolly, referring both to the children’s commitment and the donors who supported their efforts.

Funds from this year’s Walkathon have been earmarked for Ravenswood’s arts programs, but money from previous efforts has gone toward improvements such as an upgrade to the school’s ground-level flooring. “The kids are getting to see the fruits of their labor,” said Connolly, who also has two children enrolled at the school. “Every day they come in and see the floor progressing.”

“They get really proud, it builds empowerment,” added Tara Arnaud, a Ravenswood parent. “They know they can contribute; they feel responsible and they talk about it.”

Given the way that CPS bankrolls schools – the poorer the surrounding community, the more resources a school receives, and vice versa – continual fundraising has become the new normal at Ravenswood, 4332 N. Paulina St., and its North Side counterparts, even among students.

“Obviously nobody loves it but we realize it’s a given,” said Arnaud. “I think we all try to do what we can. If you can’t give money, give of your time, give of your experience.”

Jim Barrios, a newly-elected parent representative on Ravenswood’s Local School Council, gave of his time all right, and it paid off in a big way. Barrios spent hours setting up the website that for the first time allowed people to donate to the Walkathon online. Many credit the website with pushing donations toward the $15,000 goal (checks and cash are still being tallied), up from $6,000 in 2011.

“We were able to reach across the country,” said Barrios, citing contributions from 30 states and as far away as Ireland. “Aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas could donate.”

For parents such as Barrios and Arnaud, the environment at Ravenswood is worth any additional obligations on their part.

“I’m fully invested in my kids’ future all the way around,” Barrios said. “My son has just flourished with reading and math.”

Arnaud, who lives out of district in Rogers Park, said Ravenswood was her first choice of an elementary school for her daughter. (In 2011, the school received 700 out-of-boundary applications.) “What’s so great about Ravenswood is that the kids don’t feel any judgment. It fosters creativity and is really supportive,” she said. “It’s a community. People help raise all the kids here. They’re happy kids here.”

Happy and, after an hour of walking, tuckered out.

“You walk through the building the rest of the day and it’s silent,” said Connolly. “The kids are exhausted.”

Photos and video by Sarah Tilotta