Festivals & special events, Special events
What’s new at Chicago Gourmet
Chicago Gourmet is one of the top food festivals in the country — known for bringing together the city’s best and brightest culinary stars for…
Festivals & special events
Discover the best of the city’s fests.
Festivals & special events
Chicago festival & event guide
Every month is festival month in Chicago. Chicago’s world-renowned fests and events celebrate food, music, culture, art, and history throughout the city. Check out the…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Your guide to Chicago’s food festivals
Plan your trip around the city’s biggest foodie events like Taste of Chicago in July and Chicago Gourmet in September. And don’t miss the culinary…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap
Chicago’s free summer music festivals
In the summer, the city’s downtown and lakefront are filled with the sound of sublime songs, slide guitars, haunting violins, and sultry saxes, as revelers…
Festivals & special events, Museums & art
Chicago museums open late for after-hours events
Chicago’s museums are packed with fascinating, immersive exhibits on every topic you can imagine — and the fun doesn’t have to stop when the sun…
Architecture & history, Festivals & special events
Chicago Architecture Biennial
Sept. 19, 2019 – Jan. 5, 2020 Experience the future of architecture at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. This ground-breaking event, which is the largest architecture…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap, Music
World Music Festival Chicago
Sept. 13 – 29, 2019 The 21st Annual World Music Festival is your passport to musical acts from around the globe. This free, city-wide festival…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap, Music
Grant Park Music Festival
Check back for 2020 dates Experience a summer of extraordinary music with 30+ free classical concerts. The 86th annual Grant Park Music Festival at Millennium…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap, Music
Chicago Gospel Music Festival
Check back soon for 2020 dates and details. May/June 2020 • Free admission • Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center Gospel music has deep…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap, Music
Chicago Blues Festival
Check back soon for 2020 dates and details. The annual Chicago Blues Festival in June is the city’s largest music festival. More than 500,000 blues…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Chicago beer festivals and events
Attention all beer enthusiasts! Cheers to Chicago’s booming craft beer scene at the city’s packed calendar of beer fests. Sample craft beers from local, national,…
Festivals & special events, Free & cheap, Music, Theatre & performing arts
Chicago SummerDance
Check back for 2020 dates and information Free admission • Grant Park The annual SummerDance festival brings people of all ages and skill levels together…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Chicago Gourmet
Sept. 24 – 29, 2019 Welcome to the city’s premier fine dining food festival. Chicago Gourmet, presented by Bon Appétit magazine, features a week of…
Festivals & special events, Music, Special events
Chicago Jazz Festival
Aug. 23 – Sept. 2, 2019 The oldest of Chicago’s free lakefront music festivals boasts an incredibly diverse lineup during its carefully curated 10 days, which includes free…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Chicago Friday Night Flights
Chicago Friday Night Flights is back for our third season with an exciting lineup of local beer tastings that highlight the city’s dynamic craft brew…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Taste of Chicago overview
Stay tuned for 2020 dates! Welcome to the world’s largest free-admission outdoor food festival. The annual lakefront extravaganza lets you fill up on all the…
Festivals & special events
Taste of Chicago restaurants
Note: the below list is from 2019. Please check back for updated 2020 participating food vendors. Prepare yourself for one massive picnic. Taste of Chicago…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink, Music
Windy City Smokeout
July 10 – 12, 2020 Country music, barbecue and craft beer — it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a summer weekend…
Festivals & special events, Music
Lollapalooza
July 30 – Aug. 2, 2020 What started as a single-stage music showcase put together in 1991 by Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane’s Addiction, has…
Entertainment, Festivals & special events
Chicago film festivals and events
Chicago has a long and illustrious cinematic history: Charlie Chaplin at the Essanay Studios in 1915, ’80s classics like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Blues Brothers, modern day hits…
Architecture & history, Festivals & special events, Museums & art
6 must-see fall art and architecture events in Chicago
Chicago has a long legacy of influential art and architecture. And the city celebrates its creative legacy in a big way each fall. The season…
Festivals & special events, Music
Top summer music festivals in Chicago
Music lives big in Chicago, on neighborhood streets, in downtown parks, on stage at the stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and along the lakefront in iconic…
Festivals & special events, Music, Parks & outdoors
Millennium Park Summer Music Series
Check back soon for 2020 dates and details. The Millennium Park Summer Music Series features free weekly concerts, showcasing a broad spectrum of genre-defying musicians…
Festivals & special events, Food & drink
Illinois Craft Beer Week
Check back for 2020 dates. Beer lovers, mark your calendar for the biggest week of the year. Illinois Craft Beer Week features hundreds of events…
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