We welcome you to the Summer issue of The South Side Drive magazine with energy, drive, purpose, and joy!
It’s been quite an exciting year for Real Men Charities, communities, and organizations having to pivot during the pandemic. Now, as restrictions have been lifted and people start to venture outside, our Quarry Event Center had been jamming and booked every weekend.
Hosting local events has helped to grow the magazine’s brand, and we have enabled hundreds of culture enthusiasts to experience live entertainment and internationally renowned musicians. From Maggie Brown to Joan Collaso and trumpeter Corey Wilkes, Friday Night Jazz at the Quarry’s weekly jazz supper club has been a welcome return to Chicago’s Southside. This concert and interview series showcases Chicago’s most talented jazz musicians, curated by vibraphonist Thaddeus Tukes, who leads a trio with Carmani Edwards on bass and Jeremy Warren on drums.
In addition to our cultural entertainment, the South Side Drive Magazine has been keen on the mental health challenges of Chicago citizens. This month’s issue focuses on Summertime in the Chi and while summers in Chicago are always the best, it is an unfortunate truth that violence has plagued our community and taken a front seat in the news as of late. Our youth workers tackle this problem within this issue. Thoughtful reflections in movies shown during our Movie Night series depict their own perspective on the “Summer of Soul” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” movies in comparison to violence in Chicago’s streets.
Additionally, Real Men Charities celebrated the 32nd year of the highly anticipated Real Men Cook event, starting with a kickoff celebration gala held at The Quarry. The gala food fest was held on three different platforms: on-site, virtually, and globally. Each was bound by sponsoring non-profit Real Men Charities’ mission: to emphasize fatherhood and father engagement as well as family wellness.
In Chicago, the on-site celebration was held at Real Men Charities’ headquarters at The Quarry Event Center, 2423 E. 75th Street. Participants included veteran chefs, who have cooked at Real Men Cook events for decades. Real Men Charities is grateful for its partnership with sponsors that care about our communities. National sponsors were Lowe’s Home Improvement, BET, Heinz, Beyond Meat, and The Fresh Market. Local sponsors were the University of Chicago Medicine, Aetna Illinois, and The Black Star Project. Cooperating sponsors were The Black Foodies, Black Chicago Eats, South Side Drive Magazine, YORR Consulting Group, and The Quarry Event & Entertainment Center.
As all our issues have reflected this past year, we aim to inject joy, creativity and enthusiasm into your spirit, and to fortify your soul with awareness of what’s going on that matters most to you. We pray that you continue to practice social distancing and mask-up protocols as we navigate the rise of Delta variant and Covid-19 cases in our communities. We want to see you around for a long time to come!
Life has brought beautiful change. Here, we are driving that level of renewed determination, and presenting this month’s issue with love. We encourage you to consider The Quarry and book one of our beautiful spaces for your upcoming events. From the free breakfast program to the youth participating in our hospitality-oriented work-force development program, we “feed your soul” and help keep you in the loop about important news and happenings throughout Chicago.
We’re stronger and better because of you— our family of readers, sponsors, funders, and team members— all collectively bringing positive changes to the neighbor-hoods where we live, work, and play. So, here’s to a safe summer and hats off to you!
