Cirque du Soleil to Perform at Taste of Chicago Celebrating Eli's Cheesecake 37th Birthday

Eli's and Taste will celebrate their 37th birthdays on Saturday July 8, 2017 at Taste of Chicago...the very place where Eli Schulman introduced the first Eli's Cheesecake to the world, and where Eli's remains the only original vendor at Taste. The birthday party will be especially exciting as it will feature a live performance from Cirque du Soleil, inspired by the upcoming Chicago performances of LUZIA, a waking dream of Mexico, opening July 21 under the Big Top at the United Center parking lot.

Eli's is delighted that the very talented Julianna Zobrist, wife of Cubs second baseman and outfielder Ben Zobrist, will lead the crowd in a round of Happy Birthday before cutting the giant 1,500 lb. cheesecake, which will be served free to the public.

The fun begins at 12:30 pm when the public is invited to watch the giant birthday cheesecake be lifted off the truck by a forklift! Then Eli's pastry chefs put the final touches on the cake. At 1:00 pm enjoy a Cirque du Soleil performance above and around the cake, followed by the Cake Cutting Ceremony under the tent at Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park.

Cows will be working overtime to produce the 700 pounds of cream cheese needed to prepare Eli's 37th Birthday Cheesecake. Other ingredients for the mind-boggling grocery list include: 200 pounds of sugar, 40 pounds of chocolate chips, 100 pounds of Eli's Butter Cookie Crust, 95 pounds of eggs, 70 pounds of strawberries, 100 pounds of old fashioned buttercream icing, and 10 pounds of graham crackers. Eli's has sold over 5 million slices of rich and creamy cheesecake at Taste over the past 36 years.

Eli's Cheesecake Booth, located near the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Columbus Drive, will serve: Original Plain Cheesecake with Strawberries (7 tickets), Turtle Cheesecake (8 tickets), Cookie Butter Cheesecake Smoosh with Vanilla Ice Cream (9 tickets), Chocolate Chip Crunch Dipper (7 tickets), Taste Portion of Original Plain Cheesecake or Lemon Mixed Berry Cheesecake (4 tickets).

When restaurateur Eli Schulman created a new breed of cheesecake... "Chicago-style," as the signature dessert for his legendary steakhouse, Eli's The Place For Steak, little did he know that it would one day it would be referred to as Chicago icon, turning out over 20,000 cheesecakes and other delicious desserts daily at Eli's Cheesecake World, the 62,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art bakery, café, retail store and visitors' center, located on Chicago's northwest side.

Cirque du Soleil presents the Chicago engagement of its delightfully imaginative and visually stunning production LUZIA, a waking dream of Mexico, July 21 - September 3, 2017. Audiences are invited to escape to an imaginary Mexico - a sumptuous world suspended somewhere between dreams and reality. Smoothly passing from an old movie set to the ocean to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, LUZIA cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity. Rich in awe-inspiring moments, LUZIA enchants by incorporating rain into acrobatic and artistic scenes, a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production. For more information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/luzia

Julianna Zobrist released her first album, Shatterproof, last year, and has performed at numerous events and venues around the nation including a special guest appearance at Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the World Series where she sang a stirring rendition of "God Bless America." Her husband also featured Julianna's single "Alive" as his main "walk up" song during the 2016 MLB season with the history making Chicago Cubs.

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