Vote Now, Network Soon: Ravenswood's Best-of Awards Open for Voting and the Corridor's Biggest Networking Night Is Around the Corner
By Socialhood News · Ravenswood ·
Ravenswood neighbors, your opinion is officially on the ballot — and the calendar just filled up with two more reasons to plug into the community. The Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce has opened voting for the third annual Best of Ravenswood Awards, and with the Careers in Manufacturing Mixer wrapping up just yesterday at Begyle Brewing, the neighborhood is rolling straight into one of its most community-packed stretches of the fall.
The Best of Ravenswood Awards are exactly what they sound like: a neighborhood-wide celebration of the businesses, makers, and community anchors that make Ravenswood worth living in. Voting is open now through Friday, October 30, 2026 — giving neighbors more than five weeks to make their voices heard. This is the third edition of the awards, meaning the GRCC has been running the program long enough to have built genuine anticipation around it. For local business owners, a Best of Ravenswood nod isn't just a feel-good moment; it's a signal to the broader neighborhood that their neighbors noticed, showed up, and voted. Head to ravenswoodchicago.org to cast your ballot before the October 30 deadline.
The timing of the awards is no accident. They land squarely in the middle of Ravenswood's most event-dense season, when the neighborhood's instinct for community-building runs at full tilt. Yesterday, September 23, the GRCC hosted its Careers in Manufacturing Mixer at Begyle Brewing — a free event designed to connect job seekers with local industry leaders and open doors into the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor's manufacturing sector. If you missed it, keep an eye on the GRCC's event calendar; the mixer format has become a recurring part of the Chamber's programming, and another edition is likely on the horizon given the neighborhood's deep manufacturing roots.
Begyle Brewing, which sits within the industrial corridor that defines so much of Ravenswood's economic character, was a fitting host for an event about careers in making things. The corridor — a stretch of repurposed factories and working studios running along the Metra tracks — is one of the last active urban manufacturing zones in Chicago, and the GRCC has long invested in connecting residents to the opportunities inside those buildings. A mixer at a neighborhood brewery, surrounded by the same community of makers the event is meant to celebrate, is about as Ravenswood as it gets.
Looking ahead just two weeks, the GRCC is also promoting what it's billing as "the biggest cross-chamber networking event of the year" — a gathering at WhirlyBall on October 7, 2026. WhirlyBall, the only venue of its kind in Chicago, promises a night of good food, competitive fun, and the kind of cross-pollination between neighborhood business communities that the GRCC has made a signature of its programming. For entrepreneurs, freelancers, and anyone looking to expand their professional circle on the North Side, the October 7 event is worth an early RSVP.
Taken together, this week's Mixer, the Best of Ravenswood voting window, and the WhirlyBall networking night paint a familiar picture of how Ravenswood does fall: with purpose, with community, and with the GRCC threading it all together. The Chamber, established in 1958, has spent nearly seven decades connecting businesses and residents to promote what it calls "a vibrant, diverse, and sustainable local economy" — and events like these are exactly how that mission cashes out in practice.
So here's what to do right now: head to ravenswoodchicago.org and vote in the Best of Ravenswood Awards before October 30. Think about the coffee shop that remembered your order, the hardware store that stayed open late, the studio that anchored your block — and tell the neighborhood about it. Then mark October 7 on your calendar for the WhirlyBall networking night. Ravenswood's fall season is in full swing, and this is exactly the moment to show up for it.
Sources:
1. https://ravenswoodchicago.org/
2. https://ravenswoodchicago.org/category/business-events/
3. https://business.ravenswoodchicago.org/events