Windy City Sweets Will Put Your Face On A Cookie At Weekend Festival

Taking a selfie at an event has kind of become the norm. Posting it to social media or sending it out to friends is likely the next step. But, for attendees of Andersonville Midsommarfest, the next step is unexpected.

“We will be able to take a selfie, we will take that picture and put it on a cookie or they can go through their photos and we will print that image,” John Manchester, co-owner of Windy City Sweets said about their booth at the festival.

Andersonville Midsommarfest goes from 5-1p p.m. June 13, noon-10 p.m. June 14 (with opening ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. at the Swedish American Museum Stage at Foster and Clark and from noon-9 p.m. Sunday.

Windy City Sweets, whose storefront is located at 3308 N. Broadway in Chicago, will be printing faces on cookies all day at their booth at the fest. And, for the duration of the event, they are waiving the production fee, making each cookie $6.

“It’s like five minutes per image,” Manchester said of the time it takes to transfer the image to the cookie and print it. “Come in, come back, walk back through and pick it up.

“We will have it in a bag.”

Face on a Cookie also is a great idea for Father's Day. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by with someone with whom you want to take a picture and have that put on a cookie for Sunday. Or, if you are not nearby or your father, grandfather, brother uncle, etc. is no longer living, place an order for a Face on a Cookie, memorializing a joyful memory.

Windy City Sweets is also celebrating Pride with rainbow-themed sweets, including their original rainbow fudge.

“It’s a vanilla-based fudge and we will have the colors of the Pride rainbow from bottom to top,” Manchester said.

Philanthropists at heart, the owners of Windy City Sweets, John and Jill Manchester will be donating 10 percent of the sweets in the Pride line (including the rainbow fudge) to Center on Halsted. The donation will continue throughout Pride month inside the store as well as during the fest.

Face on a Cookie is a product Windy City Sweets really began selling in November, when the orders for cookies became votes for presidential candidates in its unofficial cookie campaign. Since then, the cookies have been the canvas for anything from personal photos to business logos and everything in between.

Companies have purchased sets of the cookies – for their customers, their employees and for their clients. Individuals have ordered specialty cookies the store offered to celebrate the Oscars, with stars stamped on the cookies that can be personalized for awards.Face on a Cookie has been at birthday parties – for humans and pets – announcements for life milestones and just the little fun celebrations like the fest this weekend. There is not a one person per cookie limit, so attendees can just have fun.

In addition to Center on Halsted, Windy City Sweets rotates its giving back throughout the year, but always has one day per month that they highlight a percentage of sales of a particular item to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The store also always has a cookie dedicated to the organization that yields $1 per cookie donation.

“Hunger has no season is kind of what we have been saying,” Manchester said.

Andersonville Midsommarfest is a yearly event and you can learn more about it by visiting andersonville.org/midsommarfest.

Can’t make it to the event, but want to order rainbow fudge or your face on a cookie? No problem. Windy City Sweets takes online orders. Learn more by visiting windycitysweets.com.

Lastly, learn more about Center on Halsted, which offers an array of programs and services designed to advance Chicago’s LGBTQ and allied community at centeronhalsted.org.