Our guide to summer fun

Chicago summer festivals sea

The weather is warming up and that can mean only one thing — summer festival season is back. While the big three — Lollapalooza, Pitchfork and Riot Fest — get a lot of attention, there are many others festivals that highlight Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs. And the annual city- sponsored festivals ( gospel, blues, jazz, world music) take place in Millennium Park with the downtown skyline as a backdrop. Here’s a look at where to find summer fun in the city and suburbs.

MAY

Gaelic Park Irish Fest, May 26- 29, 147th Street, two miles west of Cicero or one block east of Ridgeland, Oak Forest; visit chicagogaelicparkirishfest. org Mole de Mayo: May 26- 28, 18th and Halsted; starevents. com Chicago House Party: With Maurice Joshua, House Legacy Project, DJ RP Boo, DJ Jes and more. May 27, Millennium Park, Randolph and Michigan; millenniumpark. org Belmont- Sheffield Music Festival, May 27- 28, on Sheffield, from Belmont to Roscoe; chicagoevents. com Greek & Mediterranean Wine Festival: May 27- 28, on Halsted between Van Buren & Jackson; chicagoevents. com WOOGMS Memorial Day Parade: May 29, begins at Pine Grove and Wellington and on through the neighborhood

JUNE

Pivot Arts Festival: June 1- 11, throughout the Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods; pivotarts. org/ festival Chicago Gospel Music Festival: With the Rance Allen Group, Tye Tribbett, Jonathan McReynolds, Vashawn Mitchell and more. June 2- 3, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph and Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington; chicagogospelmusicfestival. us Do Division Street Fest and Sidewalk Sale: With The Ponys, Shannon & the Clams, Lucky Boys Confusion and more. June 2- 4, on Division between Damen and Leavitt; do- divisionstreetfest. com Taste of Little Village – Flavors of Mexico: June 2- 4, 26th and Sacramento; chicagoevents. com

Lincoln Park Greek Fest: June 2- 4, on Sheffield between Diversey and Schubert; chicagoevents.com Two Brothers Summer Festival: With Saint Motel, Blind Pilot, Savoir Adore, X Ambassadors, Knox Hamilton, The Way Down Wanderers and more. June 2- 3, RiverEdge Park, Aurora; twobrothersbrewing. com Physical Festival Chicago: June 2- 10, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont; visit physicalfestival.com 57th Street Art Fair: June 3- 4, on 57th between Kenwood and Woodlawn; 57thstreetartfair.org Ravinia Festival: The summer residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and headliners that include Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, John Legend and Tony Bennett, June 5- Sept. 17, Ravinia, 418 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park; ravinia.org Break Out Comedy Festival: June 8- 10, UP Comedy Club, 230 W. North, 3rd Floor; upcomedyclub.com Chicago Blues Festival: With Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Rhymefest, William Bell, Gary Clark Jr., Rhiannon Giddens and more. June 9- 11, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph; chicagobluesfestival.us Andersonville Midsommarfest: June 9- 11, Clark and Foster; starevents.com Spring Awakening Music Festival: June 9- 11, Addams- Medill Park, 1301 W. 14th; visit springawakeningfestival.com Ribfest Chicago: With Grizfolk, Susto, Banditos, Nora Jane Struthers & the Party Line, June 9- 11, At Lincoln, Damen and Irving Park; ribfest- chicago.com Homewood Art & Garden Street Fair: June 9- 10, on Martin between Ridge and Hickory, Homewood homesweethomewood. com Wells Street Art Festival: June

10- 11, on Wells between North and Division; chicagoevents. com Old Town Art Fair: June 10- 11, around Old Town Triangle Association building, 1763 N. North Park; oldtownartfair. org Green Music Fest: June 10- 11, on Damen between North and Schiller; greenmusicfestchicago. com 6 Corners BBQ Fest: June 10- 11, 4041 N. Milwaukee; chicagoevents. com Printers Row Lit Fest: June 10- 11, Dearborn and Congress; printersrowlitfest. org Millennium Park Summer Music Series: June 12- Aug. 21, Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion, Michigan and Randolph; cityofchicago. org Millennium Park Summer Film Series, June 13- Sept. 5, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph. “The Blues Brothers ( June 13), “Caddyshack” ( June 20), “Julie and Julia” ( June 27), “El Norte,” ( July 11), “La La Land” ( July 18), “Network” ( July 25), “Bend It Like Beckham” ( Aug. 1), “Ghost” and “The Shining” ( Aug. 8), “Hidden Figures” ( Aug. 15), “Five Heartbeats” ( Aug. 22), “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” ( Aug. 24), “The Princess Bride” ( Aug. 29), “Wayne’s World” ( Sept. 5); choosechicago. com Grant Park Music Festival: With the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. June 13- Aug. 19, Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion, Michigan and Randolph; gpmf. org

Chicago Women’s Funny Festival: June 15- 18, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont; stage773. com Activate: The event transforms downtown alleys into creative exhibition spaces for artists. June 15, July 26, Aug. 24, Sept. 28; loopchicago.com/ activate Blues on the Fox Festival: With Mavis Staples, Shemekia Copeland, Jonny Lang, Elvin Bishop, Devon Allman and Guy King Band. June 16- 17, River-Edge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora; riveredgeaurora.com Taste of Randolph Street: With Dawes, Eden, Emancipator Ensemble, Here Come the Mummies and more. June 16- 18, Randolph and Halsted; starevents.com Gold Coast Art Fair: June 17- 18, Grant Park, Butler Field, between Monroe and Jackson; starevents.com Scottish Festival and Highland Games: June 16- 17, Hamilton Lakes, 1 Pierce Place, Itasca; scottishfestivalchicago.org

Chicago Pride Fest: June 17- 18, Halsted and Waveland; Chicago Pride Parade, June 25, on Halsted and Broadway between Montrose and Diversey; northhalsted.com Taste of Bolingbrook: June 17- 18, The Promenade, 631 E. Boughton, Bolingbrook; chicagoevents.com Family Fun Festival: June 19- Aug. 20, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph, under the tent on the Chase Promenade North; cityofchicago.org Snubfest Comedy Festival: June 21- 24, Zanies, 1548 N. Wells and Under the Gun Theater, 956 W. Newport; snubfest. com Chicago Summer-Dance: June 23- Sept. 10, Grant Park, Spirit of Music Garden, 601 S. Michigan; chicago summer dance. org Strawberry Fest: June 23- 25, downtown Long Grove, 308 Old McHenry, Long Grove; longgrove.org Windy City Lake Shake Country Music Festival: With Thomas Rhett, Randy House, Big & Rich, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Brothers Osborne and more. June 23-25; Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island; lake shake festival. com Logan Square Arts Festival: June 23- 25, Illinois Centennial Monument on Logan Square; lo- gan square arts festival. com Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party: With Wedding Banned, Elevation, 7th Heaven and more. June 23- 24, on Desplaines from Adams to Madison; worlds largestblockparty.com Evanston Chamber Artisan Summer-Fest: June 24- 25, Church and Sherman, Evanston; chicagoevents.com Mamby on the Beach: With MGMT, Local Natives, Misterwives, Walk the Moon, Flying Lotus and more. June 24- 25, Oakwood Beach, 4100 S. Lake Shore Dr.; mambybeach.com Chicago Taco & Tequila Festival: June 24- 25, Jackson Park, 6300 S. Lake Shore; chicagoevents. com Summerfest: With Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul Simon, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Luke Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Pink, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Chris Stapleton and more. June 28- July 9, along the lakefront, Milwaukee; summerfest. com Fitz Gerald’s American Music Festival: Dave Alvin, Shinyribs, Los Straitjackets with Marshall Crenshaw, Marcia Ball, C. J. Chenier, Ike Reilly, Shemekia Copeland, Eric Lindell, Common heart and more. June 30- July 3, Fitz Gerald’s, 6615 W. Roosevelt, Berwyn; fitzgeraldsnightclub.com Naperville Ribfest: With Toby Keith, The B- 52s, A Flock of Seagulls, Collective Soul, The Wallflowers, Better Than Ezra. June 30July 3, 724 S. West St., Naperville; ribfest. net Lisle Eyes to the Skies: June 30- July 2, Lisle Community Park, 1825 Short, Lisle; eyestotheskies.org Windy City Ribfest: June 30- July 2, Lawrence and Broadway; chicagoevents.com

JULY

Live on Lincoln: With Polica, Chicago Batman, The Motet, Turkuaz and more. July 1- 2, Lincoln and Belmont; starevents.com International Festival of Life: July 1- 4, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph; internationalfestivaloflife.com Fireworks at Navy Pier: July 4, 600 E. Grand; navypier.com Taste of Chicago: With Alessia Cara, Café Tacvba, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Passion Pit, The O’Jays and more. July 5- 9 in Grant Park, Jackson and Columbus; tasteofchicago.us Ruido Fest: With Intocable, Cultura Profetica, Molotov, Julieta Venegas and more. July 7- 9, Addams/ Medill Park, 1301 W. 14th; starevents.com Irish American Heritage Festival: With Bua, Michael McDermott, Gaelic Storm, The Dooley Brothers and more. July 7- 9, Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox; irish- american. org West Fest: With ESG, Royal Headache, Har Mar Superstar. July 7- 9, on Chicago between Damen and Wood; westfestchicago.com Roscoe Village Burger Fest: July 8- 9, Belmont and Damen; chicagoevents.com Pitchfork Music Festival: With LCD Soundsystem, Dirty Projectors, A Tribe Called Quest, PJ Harvey, Angel Olsen, Solange, Nicholas Jaar and more. July 14- 16, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph; pitchfork. com Chicago Open Air: With Kiss, Korn, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Slayer, Megadeath and more. July 14- 16, Toyota Park, 7000 Harlem, Bridgeview; chicagoopenair.com

BenFest: July 14- 16, St. Benedict Parish, 2215 W. Irving Park; parish. stbenedict. com Windy City Smokeout: With Jake Owen, Kip Moore, Lee Brice and more. July 14- 16, Grand and t he Chicago River; windycitysmokeout. com Metal Threat Fest with Profanatica, Antichrist, Demona, Perversion and more. July 14- 15, Cobra Lounge, 235 N. Ashland; cobralounge. com Southport Art Festival: July 15- 16, Southport and Waveland; starevents. com Forest Park Music Fest: July 21- 23, Madison and Des Plaines, Forest Park; starevents. com V103 Summer Block Party: With Jill Scott, Bell Biv Devoe, SWV, Kelly Rowland and more. July 22, Huntington Bank Pavilion, Northerly Island, 1300 S. Lynn White Drive; livenation. com Chicago Craft Beer Fest: July 22- 23, Sheffield and Webster; chicagoevents. com Sheffield Music Fest & Garden Walk: July 22- 23; on Sheffield between Webster and Fullerton; chicagoevents. com Fiesta del Sol: July 27- 30, 1400 W. Cermak; fiestadelsol. org Taste of Lincoln Avenue: July 29- 30, on Lincoln between Fullerton and Wrightwood; chicagoevents. com Wicker Park Fest: July 29- 30, on Milwaukee between North and Paulina; wickerparkbucktown. com

AUGUST

Lollapalooza: With Muse, Lorde, Cage the Elephant, Wiz Kahalifa, The Killers, Run the Jewels, Chance the Rapper, The XX, Alt- J, Arcade Fire, Big Sean, The Shins, The Head and the Heart and more. Aug. 3- 6, Grant Park; lol- lapalooza. com Jeff Fest: Aug. 4- 6, Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N. Long; chicagoevents. com Edge Fest: Aug. 5- 6, Broadway and Thorndale; starevents. com Black Harvest Film Festival: Aug. 5- 31, Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State; siskelfilmcenter. org/ blackharvest Retro on Roscoe: Aug. 11- 13, Roscoe and Damen; starevents. com Ginza Holiday Festival: Aug. 11- 13, 435 W. Menomonee; ginzaholiday. com Chicago Hot Dog Fest: With Sixteen Candles, Robert Cornelius & Friends Salute Prince, Mike & Joe. Aug. 11- 13, 1701 N. Stockton; chicagohistory. org/ 2017hotdogfest North Halsted Market Days: Aug. 12- 13, on Halsted between Belmont and Addison; chicagoevents. com Veggie Fest: Aug. 12- 13, Benedictine University, 5600 College, Lisle; veggiefestchicago. com Clark After Dark: Aug. 17, Clark and Hubbard; starevents. com Chicago Festa Italiana: Aug. 18- 20, Taylor and Ashland; starevents. com Chicago Air and Water Show: Aug. 19- 20, North Avenue Beach, 1600 N. Lake Shore; chicagoairandwatershow. us Taste of Greektown: Aug. 25- 27, Halsted and Van Buren; chicagoevents. com Wicker Park Bucktown Summer Sidewalk Sale: Aug. 26- 27, on Damen, Division, North and Milwaukee; wickerparkbucktown. com/ events Bucktown Arts Fest: Aug. 26- 27, 2200 N. Oakley; bucktownartsfest. com Wizard World Comic Con Chicago: With John Cusack, Gene Simmons, Jewel Staite, Dean Cai n, Lo u Fe rr i g n o. Aug. 26- 27, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd., Rosemont; wizardworld. com/ comiccon/ chicago Chicago Fringe Festival: Aug. 30- Sept. 10, various venues i n Jef- ferson Park; chicagofringe. org Chicago Jazz Festival: With Donny McCaslin Group, Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio, Dr. Michael White Quartet, Allison Miller Boom Tic Boom, Rebirth Brass Band and more. Aug. 31- Sept. 3, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph and Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington; chicagojazzfestival. us

SEPTEMBER

North Coast Music Festival: With Deadmaus & Eric Prydz, Gucci Mane, Damian Marley, STS9, Ween and more. Sept. 1- 3, Union Park, 1401 W. Randolph; northcoastfestival. com African Festival of the Arts: Sept. 1- 4, Washington Park, 5100 S. Cottage Grove; aihusa. org World Music Festival Chicago: Sept. 8- 24, Millennium Park, Michigan Randolph and Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington; worldmusicfestivalchicago. us Rocktober Beerfest: Sept. 8- 10, Randolph and Ogden; starevents. com Throwback Music Festival: Sept. 8- 10, 6030 N. Milwaukee; chicagoevents. com Fiestas Patrias: Sept. 8- 10, 26th and Kostner; chicagoevents. com Lakeview East Festival of the Arts: Sept. 9- 10, on Broadway from Belmont to Hawthorne; lakevieweastfestivalofthearts. com Riot Fest: With Nine I nch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Jawbreaker, M. I. A., Wu- Tang Clan, TV on the Radio, Gogol Bordello and more. Sept. 15- 17, Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento; riotfest. org West Loop Art Fest: Sept. 16- 17, Fulton and Racine; starevents. com Sam Adams Taco Fest: Sept. 16- 17, on Southport between Addison and Roscoe; chicagoevents. com Hyde Park Jazz Festival: Sept. 23- 24, Midway Pl a i s a n c e an d Woodlawn; starevents. com Oktoberfest Chicago: Sept. 29- Oct. 1, at Southport, Wellington and Lincoln; chicagoevents. com

| LOU FOGLIA/ SUN- TIMES MILLENNIUM PARK FILM SERIES: Runs June 13- Sept. 5 on Michigan and Randolph St. featuring films like ‘ La La Land,’ playing on July 11. THE TASTE OF CHICAGO: ( pictured in 2016) returns to Chicago’s Grant Park July 5- 9.

FRAZER HARRISON/ GETTY IMAGES | ASHLEE REZIN/ SUN- TIMES | CHICAGOEVENTS. COM LOLLAPALOOZA: Chance the Rapper will perform at Grant Park during the Aug. 3- 6 fest. LINCOLN PARK GREEK FESTIVAL: Celebrate Greek culture June 2- 4 at St. George Greek Orthodox Church. CHICAGO AIR AND WATER SHOW: Aug. 19- 20, North Avenue Beach,...

| LOU FOGLIA/ SUN- TIMES MILWAUKEE SUMMERFEST: The Red Hot Chili Peppers ( shown at Lollapalooza in Grant Park in 2016) are on the bill June 28 in Milwaukee.

| RICK DIAMOND/ GETTY IMAGES FOR THE GREEN ROOM FITZGERALD’S AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL: Shemekia Copeland will perform during the June 30- July 3 extravaganza in Berwyn.

CHICAGOEVENTS. COM THE BELMONT- SHEFFIELD MUSIC FEST: Runs May 27- 28, on Sheffield, from Belmont to Roscoe.

| JIMMY KING CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL: Donny McCaslin is among the lineup for the Aug. 31- Sept. 3 fest.

| ALFREDO ESTRELLA/ AFP/ GETTY IMAGES RIOT FEST: Trent Reznor ( shown in concert in Mexico in 2014) and the rest of Nine Inch Nails are on the bill during the Sept. 15- 17 musical event in Douglas Park.

| CHICAGOEVENTS. COM ROSCOE VILLAGE BURGER FEST: Some of Chicago’s finest ground beef purveyors will be serving up their best hamburgers July 8- 9. Two stages will feature live music.