The Cliff Dwellers

Board Meeting
2026-06-19 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-07-17 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-08-21 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)

Theatre Club Outing: Iceboy!
2026-06-21 17:30 - 22:00
The Goodman Theatre presents a hilarious new musical featuring Megan Mullally. It tells the story of a 10,000-year-old Neanderthal discovered in the Arctic who is brought to modern-day New York to become a star.
Contact Rick Frendt for details:
rfrendt@comcast.net
708.359.0806

Club Closed After Lunch for Exclusive Event
2026-06-24 16:00 - 21:00, 2026-07-22 16:00 - 20:00

Business of Art Forum
2026-06-25 18:30 - 20:00
This popular series on how to build and market your artistic career continues with Richard Andrews leading the forum.
Make your reservation to attend by Monday, June 22 so that we know how many people to seat. If you’re staying for dinner, please mention that in your reservation request.
reservations@cliff-chicago.org 312-922-8080

Poetry Society Lunch
2026-06-26 12:00 - 13:30
Join our friendly group of poetry enthusiasts for an always lively literary discussion. Michele Kurlander will be leading the presentation on the surrealist French poet, Arthur Rimbaud
All are welcome! No poetry writing skills needed, just an active interest of the art form.
Plan on attending? Please reserve your place at the table by Tuesday, June 23. Let us know if you’ll be having lunch.

Celebrate Ruth AIzuss Migdal at Summer Saturday Brunch
2026-06-27 11:30 - 14:00
Enjoy Saturday Brunch at the Club with Ruth and friends!
Reknown sculptor and Cliff Dweller curator of sculpture Ruth Aizuss Migdal will be the guest of honor during a Summer Saturday Brunch on June 27. Ruth has tirelessly managed the magnificent sculpture displays within the Club since 2014, and is generously donating her artwork on the terrace to the Club. Working primarily in bronze, her representations of the female torso are on display throughout the U.S.
Raise a glass to Ruth while enjoying a delightful summertime brunch.
Bar opens: 11:30 a.m.
Brunch: 12:00 noon – 2 p.m.
Members: $38
Non-Members: $46
Make your reservation by Friday, June 19
reservations@ciff-chicago.org or 312-922-8080

Fourth of July Celebration BBQ
2026-07-01 17:30 - 22:00
We’ll be celebrating Independence Day early! Come enjoy a fantastic BBQ buffet, and stay to watch fireworks from the terrace.
Bar Opens: 5:30 p.m.
BBQ Buffet: 7:00 p.m.
Fireworks when Bar Closes: 9:00 p.m.
Members: $54
Invited Guests: $60
Enjoy celebratory craft cocktails and Chef Erick’s delicious barbeque!
Make your reservation NO LATER THAN June 24th
reservations@cliff-chicago.org 312-922-8080

Club Closed after Lunch for Independence Day
2026-07-03 14:00 - 23:00

Chicago's Forgotten Impressionist - James Bolivar Needham
2026-07-07 17:00 - 20:30
A visionary, self-taught artist who was among the first in the city to see beauty in Chicago’s industrial waterways, James Bolivar Needham (1830-1931) never achieved widespread fame in his lifetime. The Cliff Dwellers’ founders and members, however, appreciated Needham’s perspective and saw him as an example of the artistic innovation unique to Chicago.
Cliff Dwellers AIR and Chicago Maritime Museum curator Madeline Crispwell will walk us through Needham’s life, from his parents’ escape on the Underground Railroad to his connections with artists like Hamlin Garland and Lorado Taft, and will explore questions still to be answered.
Doors open: 5:00 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
Program: 7:00 p.m.
Members: $54
Invited Guests: $60
Program only: $20
Please make your reservation for this event NO LATER THAN June 30th.
reservations@cliff-chicago.org 312-922-8080

The Architectural Table - The New Game Plan for Urban Stadia
2026-07-14 12:00 - 13:30
This lively group meets monthly to broach an array of exhilarating architectural topics, highlighting both the good and the bad!
Today’s topic: Urban Sports Stadiums; Looking at them in a new way!
So that we have enough seats at the table, please make a reservation by Friday, April 10 via
reservations@cliff-chicago.org OR call 312-922-8080
Let the office know if you’ll be also be enjoying the buffet.

Monthly Lunch Buffet
2026-07-14 12:00 - 14:00
Great food and great company at our “Second Tuesday” monthly buffet lunch served from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.

Please let the Club know if you’ll be stopping in by Tuesday, July 7.
reservations@cliff-chicago.org or 312-922-8080

Club Closed After Lunch for Private Event
2026-07-14 14:00 - 21:00

Sketch Club
2026-07-18 10:00 - 12:00
The Cliff Dwellers Sketch Club will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 18 at 10 a.m. at the Club. If the weather cooperates, we’ll be drawing in the parks and gardens around the Art Institute of Chicago, OR stay at the Club to sketch if you prefer!
Join the group for a fun morning. Those interested can then enjoy the Saturday Jazz brunch at the Club at noon (members: $38, non-members $46. Say Happy Birthday to Joan Pantsios, while you’re there!)
Be sure to make a reservation with the Club by July 10 if you’ll be brunching.
If you’re coming to sketch, let Charlie Hasbrouck know so we can watch for you! Text Charlie at 312-714-8796
For brunch reservations:
reservations@cliff-chicago.org 312-922-8080

The Cliff Dwellers Book Club discusses Fire and Clay
2026-07-18 11:00 - 12:30
A literary journey experiencing the beauty and mystery of Chicago’s buildings.
The Cliff Dwellers Book Club will gather in the Sullivan Room on Saturday, July 18, at 11:00 a.m. to discuss Fire and Clay, by Will Quam.
By the late 1920’s, at the peak of brick making and consumption, Chicago was making over a billion bricks a year for its buildings and importing almost another billion nicer face bricks for their front facades.
In Fire and Clay, Quam explores how developers, architects, and masons followed changing fashions as they designed and built the city, creating connections across disparate neighborhoods.
Please make a reservation with the club by Friday, July 10
Planning to stay for the special Saturday Jazz Brunch ($38) as well? Let the staff know when you contact us!

reservations@cliff-chicago.org, or 312-922-8080

Saturday Jazz Brunch!
2026-07-18 11:30 - 13:30
Cliff Dweller member Dr. Roosevelt Griffin III and the Windy City Ramblers will make brunch at the club unforgettable as they provide their blend of rich New Orleans second line rhythms with Chicago’s own musical jazz, soul, and blues legacy. Join your Club friends for a fun Saturday afternoon of great food and great music.
This Jazz Brunch is being sponsored by Joan Pantsios, in honor of her birthday! Thank you Joan!Bar opens: 11:30 a.m.
Brunch: Noon -2 p.m.
Members: $38
Non-members: $46

Reserve your spot by Friday, July 10
reservations@cliff-chicago.org or 312-922-8080

Theatre Club: Broadway Sings America at Grant Park Music Festival
2026-07-21 18:30 - 20:30
It’s summer in the city, and what more Chicago-way to spend a warm summer evening than under the grand arches of the Great Lawn at the Pritzker Pavilion, listening to the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Chorus?
Bring your blanket or a lawn chair and join the Cliff Dwellers Theatre Club on Tuesday, July 21, as we get together for an informal picnic-in-the-park. We’ll enjoy hearing selections from beloved Broadway hits such as Ragtime, Hamilton, South Pacific, Hair, and more! Bring whatever beverage and snacks you’d like. There are some concessions booths in the area, if you can’t carry anything in.
The performance starts at 6:30 p.m. This is a FREE public performance, and is one of the Festival’s most popular evenings, so it will get crowded. Please try to get there early-ish. We plan on being in the back half of the lawn, and will plan on trying to stake out an area by 5 p.m. If you arrive and cannot find the group, send Rick a text or call at 708-359-0806 and we’ll look for you.
Think you can make it? Let Rick Frendt know by Tuesday morning, July 21, so we can try to save space for people.
(Rain date: Thursday, July 23, 6:30 p.m.)

Poetry Society Lunch
2026-07-24 12:00 - 13:30
Join our friendly group of poetry enthusiasts for an always lively literary discussion. This week, Cliff Dweller Richard Nystrom will moderate the discussion on the poem “Rita and the Rifle” by Mahmoud Darwish.
All are welcome! No poetry writing skills needed, just an active interest of the art form.
Plan on attending? Please reserve your place at the table by Tuesday, July 21. Let us know if you’ll be having lunch!

reservations@cliff-chicago.org
312-922-8080

Chicago Skyscrapers - Lecture and Book Signing
2026-07-28 17:00 - 21:00
Discover the evolution of Chicago’s striking urban landscape in this fascinating evening with fellow Cliff Dweller, Architect, Professor, and Author Thomas Leslie, FAIA.
Pulling details from 2023 book Chicago Skyscrapers 1923-1986, Thomas Leslie (teacher of building design, technology, and history at UIUC) will share stories of the daily struggles, technical breakthroughs, and negotiations that evolved through the decades after the Great Depression to change the early, solid, earthbound style of Chicago buildings to soaring structures of steel and plate glass.
Copies of Mr. Leslie’s book will be available for purchase and for signing.
Bar opens: 5:00 p.m.
Buffet Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
Program: 7:00 p.m.
Members: $54
Invited Guests: $64
Program only: $20 members and guests
Please send in your reservation no later than July 21st.
reservations@cliff-chicago.org
3121-922-8080

Lollapalooza Watch Party
2026-07-30 17:00 - 21:00
Get the Party Started!
It’s Lollapalooza time, and the view from the Cliff Dwellers lets you enjoy all the crazy going on below in Grant Park while keeping several stories up and away from the crowds! Enjoy a great dinner while scanning the various stages for a glimpse of a well-known rock star or two.
Specialty Cocktails and a Latin-style buffet!
Bar opens: 5:00 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $42 per person
Please be sure to make your reservation no later than Thursday, July 23
reservations@cliff-chicago.org
312-922-8080

Club Closed After Lunch for Lollapalooza Weekend
2026-07-31 14:00 - 21:00

The Musical Life of U.S. Vice President (and Cliff Dweller) Charles Gates Dawes
2026-08-05 17:00 - 21:00
Cliff Dweller Artist-In-Residence, Sara Su Jones and pianist Tatyana Stepanova will host an evening sharing previously untold stories of the remarkable musical life and legacy of Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951). This specially curated collection of musical numbers and engaging commentary yields fresh insights into this intriguing, multi-faceted, and multi-talented public figure who became the Vice President of the United States, and who won the Nobel Peace prize.
Sara Su Jones (violinist) and Ukranian-American Tatyana Stepanova have performed together for the past 18 years in recital halls across the globe. Their eclectic, creative programs often highlight striking but little-known works, and Sara Su’s insightful commentary and storytelling enliven the duo’s performances.
Doors open: 5:00 p.m.
Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
Program: 7:00 p.m.
Members: $60
Invited Guests: $70
Program Only (limited availability): $20
Please make your reservation no later than JULY 28.
reservations@cliff-chicago.org
3121-922-8080

Club Closed at Lunch for Exclusive Event
2026-08-07 10:00 - 17:00

The Architectural Table
2026-08-11 12:00 - 13:30
This lively group meets monthly to broach an array of exhilarating architectural topics, highlighting both the good and the bad!
So that we have enough seats at the table, please make a reservation by Friday, April 10 via
reservations@cliff-chicago.org OR call 312-922-8080
Let the office know if you’ll be also be enjoying the buffet.

Club Closed after Lunch for Exclusive Event
2026-09-01 14:00 - 21:00, 2026-09-04 14:00 - 21:00
The Club will be closed after 2 p.m.

Club Closed at Lunch for Exclusive Event
2026-09-02 10:00 - 17:00, 2026-09-03 10:00 - 17:00
There will be no lunch service today, due to a private event.
