In this episode of The Chicagoland Guide, host Aaron Masliansky sits down with Jeff Haydon, President & CEO of the iconic Ravinia Festival in Highland Park-America’s oldest outdoor music festival.

Jeff shares how Ravinia began as a railroad amusement park over a century ago and evolved into one of the nation’s leading cultural institutions. The conversation covers Ravinia’s deep roots in the community, its role as a good neighbor in Highland Park, and its vision for the future through the Setting the Stage campaign — a $75 million renovation of its 36-acre campus to be completed by 2029.

Keeping Culture Alive in Highland Park featuring Diana Gran | The Chicagoland Guide – Episode 139

The Chicagoland Guide explores how the Chicagoland area actually works, through conversations about housing, infrastructure, development, and the civic decisions shaping the region’s future.

Hosted by Aaron Masliansky, a Chicago-area real estate advisor and urban planning graduate, the show features in-depth discussions with mayors, developers, policy leaders, business owners, and cultural institutions. Rather than surface-level neighborhood highlights, each episode examines the forces influencing growth, investment, and community life across Chicagoland.

For residents, investors, and civic leaders who care about long-term thinking and how place shapes opportunity, The Chicagoland Guide offers thoughtful, grounded conversations about the region’s trajectory.