Bubble-Gum Happiness

I stand at the edge of a parking lot of a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in the near-northwest side of Chicago, and the first thing I see is a giant smiley face. I’m at Happy Place, a pop-up exhibit lending the Windy City its presence this summer through September 3 before it hits the road again like a traveling circus.

Back to the face. Its eyes bend into the letters h and p. Clever. Its shade of yellow—sunshine—is matched by almost every detail in sight: the cones cutting the warehouse parking lot in half, the artificial grass in the waiting area, the inflatable tube men dancing beside the entrance, the wristband permitting me to enter, the T-shirt of the girl who gave me the wristband.