Events
Chicago Underground Film Festival
March
Focussing on independent features, experimental films and documentaries, this quirky film festival is one of the hottest dates in the international movie calendar. Anybody can submit a film for consideration, and awards are given to the best offerings at the end of the festival.
Taste of Chicago
July
Billed as the world’s largest food festival, ‘Taste of Chicago’ is held in Grant Park and supplements the produce stalls and restaurant showcases with a programme of live entertainment. It’s one of the few big events in the city that is completely free to attend.
Lollapalooza
August
Chicago’s biggest music festival is a three-day-long knees-up, which attracts top performers in the fields of hip hop, dance music, punk and alternative rock. It attracts crowds of around 160,000 every year, and past headliners have included Coldplay, The Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire.
Air and Water Show
August
An incredible two-million-strong crowd flocks to Chicago during the second weekend in August for North America’s biggest spectator event. Parachute teams, daredevil pilots and fighter jets all vie for the attention of the watchers.
Magnificent Mile Lights Festival
November
This long-running tradition takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and features a guest appearance by Disney celebrity Mickey Mouse. The famous cartoon characters turns on more than one million lights along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, to the accompaniment of live music and entertainment.