In the past week, I have experienced all the best parts of living in Chicago's backyard. We get to feel small town charm at area festivals, appreciate the farms that gave this area its start and take a short drive to one of the coolest cities in the world.

* The Village of Thornton has a farmer's market from noon to 7 p.m. every Wednesday through October. It's hard to believe I could live in the Midwest this long without going to a farmer's market, so a fellow reporter and I headed out to see it. The colors of the freshly picked vegetables were beautiful and the heat of the day brought out the scent of basil.

This assignment made me hungry, and I know I'll definitely be back for fresh fruits and veggies.

* It's hard not to love pierogi. They're doughy and sweet and contain two of my personal food groups - cheese and sugar. Though I have been to Whiting's annual Pierogi Fest once before and chowed down on the signature dish, I had never seen the parade until last week. Babushka ladies danced down the street wearing house dresses and slippers singing "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?"

A lady standing next to a street light informed us she was holding that spot because her fiance was going to be walking for the first time in the Lawn Mower Brigade. We just nodded and smiled, not realizing the significance. The men in the brigade wear silly outfits - think SpongeBob SquarePants and the caveman from the GEICO commercials - as they push lawn mowers that are from a time before gasoline or electricity.

* The weekend of special events took my friend and I from Whiting one night to Chicago the next afternoon. We needed to head to the lakefront for Venetian Night but had no other plans. We decided to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. We loved the farm and a mama pig with her 2-week-old piglets were the cutest things ever.

I could have watched them all day, but it was off to AMC theater near Navy Pier. The only movies I have seen in Chicago were on museum screens, so this was quite a treat. The facility is three stories high. You go up an escalator to buy tickets and go up another escalator to get to the theaters. The seats are huge and there are a lot of them. (Side note: "The Simpsons" is the funniest movie I have seen this summer.)

We then walked to Navy Pier, which always seems to be more crowded than anyplace else in the city. Regardless, there was no wait at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company so we stopped in and had two reminders of our recent trip to Hawaii - mahi mahi and a Blue Hawaiian. The fun atmosphere and attentive servers made up for the decent, but overpriced, food.

Venetian Night packed in the crowds as always, but with good reason. The decorated boat parade dazzled taking us on a trip down memory lane - the theme was "Chicago's Finest Moments." It seemed the crowd applauded the loudest for the Marshall Field's boat, complete with State Street clock and the Frango Mint logo. After that, the most beautiful fireworks I have ever seen lit up the sky.

The opinions are solely those of the writer. Jennifer Pallay can be reached at jpallay@nwitimes.com.