Ravinia 2022, Issue 3

Shop The Women’s Board takes stock of 50 years of festival friendship and support IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 1972. Several ambitious members of the na- scent Ravinia Women’s Board had an idea. They had been gifted copies of an attractive poster and a small cook- book containing favorite recipes from Chicago Symphony Orchestra mem- bers and guest artists—from Claudio Abbado and George Balanchine to Seiji Ozawa and János Starker. If the women could resurrect an abandoned ticket booth from the maintenance lot, they thought they could sell the items and help Ravinia’s Sustaining Fund through a challenging period. After persuading the grounds crew to move the booth to a patch of asphalt near the Pavilion, they arrived early the next morning with buckets, mops, brooms, and scrub brushes. The Friendship Booth—Ravinia’s first gift shop—was born. The project was an immediate suc- cess, and the Women’s Board quickly capitalized on its potential, recruiting additional community volunteers to staff the booth and provide informa- tion about the park while also selling a wider variety of items, including 35-cent bumper stickers and $5 sweatshirts. To satisfy increasing demand for new product, the Women’s Board launched a poster contest in 1974 in partnership with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Students report- edly attacked the opportunity with gusto because the prize was $50 and the artist’s name imprinted on each poster. The judges for the initial com- petition experienced a similar zeal, selecting three winners instead of one, as intended. The board nevertheless ordered 250 copies of each poster and sold them for $3 each—and promised that future contests would crown only one winner. By the late 1970s, the Friendship Booth was “the place to go” at Ravinia for information and directions as well as souvenirs. More important, how- ever, the proceeds from sales at the Friendship Booth increased annually and provided welcome support for Ravinia’s ongoing operations. Realizing that there was still plenty of untapped potential, the Women’s Board began working with Ravinia management in the early 1980s on plans to replace the Friendship Booth with a permanent shop on the east side of the Martin Theatre. The new store opened on July 28, 1985, with twice the space for over 100 Ravin- ia-branded items, including “Chorus- pondence” note cards, Bach back- packs, Ravinia brass ticket key chains, mugs, picnic baskets, and blankets. Success required even more com- mitment from the Women’s Board members who planned and ordered the inventory, stocked the shelves, kept all accounts, and supervised a sales force of more than 200 volun- teers. By the early 1990s, Ravinia Gifts was the envy of North Shore retail- ers, producing sales that allowed the Women’s Board to contribute more RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 18 – JULY 31, 2022 90