Chicago Dinner Brings Together Destination Delegates and Media

On Oct. 19, media and influencers based in Chicago joined 12 tourism partners at Visit California’s Chicago Media Dinner. The event was held at Cabra, helmed by Chef Stephanie Izard — who has strong California ties with her restaurant, Girl & the Goat Los Angeles.

The Chicago Media Dinner was attended by top-tier culinary, lifestyle and travel media who contribute to high-profile outlets such as Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune, CBS Chicago, MSN, Fodor’s Travel, Condé Nast Traveler and more.

The dinner was emceed by Cassandra Schaeg — founder of SIP Wine & Beer in San Diego County and co-creator, host and producer of Fresh Glass on PBS. The pairing menu featured five diverse wineries across the state, showcasing the stories of the individual wineries and winemakers, as well as California’s diverse wine regions. Featured wineries include Camins2Dreams from Santa Barbara County, Klinker Brick from Lodi, Wiens Cellars from Temecula Valley, Bonny Doon from Santa Cruz County and Brown Estate from Napa Valley. 

During the seated portion of the meal, the delegates also had an opportunity to give a 30-second “elevator pitch,” highlighting what is new or noteworthy about their destination or business. Attendees also had time to network with the media over passed bites and dessert. 

A Southern California Road Trip was raffled off during the event, featuring stops in Greater Palm Springs, Pasadena and Temecula Valley.

Media feedback from attendees of the event has been incredibly positive:

“Thank you again for having me! It was a great event.” — Jamaica Ponder, CBS News Chicago

“Thanks, all, for a great Visit California event last night. You definitely have me itching for a trip out West.” — Amy Cavanaugh, Chicago Magazine

“Thanks for having me and I had a blast learning about all things California! Look forward to visiting there next year!” — Sherrie Tan, @sherriesavorsthecity

To maximize the delegation’s visit to Chicago, Visit California and the partners had an opportunity to take field trips to NewsNation and WGN Radio prior to the Chicago Media Dinner. Each visit included a studio tour and Q&A time with the anchors and producers, providing partners with a great opportunity to ask questions related to working with broadcast media.

You can view a gallery of the events here.

The Chicago Media Dinner was the first of two smaller, more intimate media events designed to provide partners with impactful networking opportunities in niche media markets. The second of these events will take place in Dallas in February 2024.

For information about Dallas or other media events, be sure to sign up for Visit California’s Public Relations newsletter. And if you have any questions about upcoming opportunities, please reach out to Domestic Public Relations Manager Kristen Bonilla.