Summer

On Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday only!!!
At the Grant Park, Spirit of Music Garden
June 27th - September 15th 2013
For eleven weeks each summer, the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park blossoms into an urban dance space. The series offers an introductory one-hour dance lesson by professional instructors followed by two hours of live music and dancing.

Celebrate the end of summer in Chicago! Spend Labor Day in the Second City and enjoy the summer's last holiday by browsing antique fairs, visiting lakefront beaches, experiencing the Chicago Jazz Festival, or attending a Major League Baseball game.
Start your weekend off by visiting Chicago's Urban Adventures Headquarters, where Chicago's Urban Rangers will help you chart your trek into the city.
The Urban Adventures Headquarters is located in the Chicago Cultural Center Visitor Information Center, 77 E. Randolph Street.

Neighborhood Festival featuring:
A Lion Dance procession at 1:00 p.m. which starts at the Main Stage (23rd St and Wentworth Ave.) with Asian cultural entertainment and a Music Stage (Wentworth Ave. and 24th Pl.) on the hour.
A taste of Chinatown's many restaurants, local unique gift shops, Chinese art's and craft's exhibit, a children area and street vendors with an array of merchandise for a day long family event.

Date: June 15-16, 2013
Time: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm Saturday & Sunday
The city of Evanston and the surrounding North Shore communities celebrate the 42 second annual Custer's Last Stand. What is now Evanston's largest and oldest outdoor event, Custer's Last Stand has become famous throughout the Midwest for its diverse and unique features.

One of the nation's oldest neighborhood garden walks, this event draws people from all over the country. New gardens will be offered this year, as well as themed vignettes that demonstrate how to create similar gardens of your own. Visitors can see more than 20 contemporary urban landscaping and Victorian gardens in Chicago's historic Near North neighborhood.

Specialty: Fresh Veggies, Produce, Food & Plant Education
Features: Over 70 vendors selling their items to over 29 neighborhoods throughout the city and suburb's
Times:  Markets are held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday around the city.
More information: To find out what is available in your community call the Chamber of Commerce or City Hall.

In June 2005, a temporary, yet state-of-the-art concert venue was built at the Northern end of the island. The 7,500 seat Charter One Pavilion hosts concerts by some of today's most popular artists, along with family matinee events.

For three decades, Fountain Square Art Festival has won acclaim as one of the most prestigious art festivals in the Midwest. With more than 225 artists, it's the largest and oldest juried fine arts fair on Chicago's North Shore. The festival is located on six city blocks in downtown Evanston with the fest's eponymous "Fountain Square" sculpture garden serving as its focal point. This urban setting creates the perfect ambience and embodies the word "sophistication" with an audience of more than 50,000 discerning, upscale art aficionados and collectors.

Multiple Locations including the Chicago Cultural Center
The Chicago Gospel Music Festival will return in 2013 with performances taking place in multiple locations throughout Chicago.

Once again the Grant Park Music Festival is taking the lead among local summer festivals when it comes to presenting eclectic combinations of popular symphonic and choral fare and more adventuresome classical music programming. And it's all free.

The 79th season of the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus, announced Wednesday, will consist of 22 programs given in the course of a 10-week season from June 12 to Aug. 17 at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The season also will bring a renewed emphasis on outreach events presented in collaboration with the Chicago Park District in neighborhoods throughout the city.

The Illinois State Fair was strarted by a  group of farmers who met in January of 1853 to form the Illinois State Agricultural Society offered Springfield the opportunity to host the first state fair.