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» Best Festivals Chicago
Music, dance, theatre, and performance art headline the cultural calendars in all of Night+Day’s cool cities. We combed through dozens of annual performing arts festivals worldwide, and here are the best of the best.
The Draw: More than 750,000 music fans turn out every June for Chicago’s largest music festival. Held in Grant Park since 1984, the Chicago Blues Festival has played host to countless blues legends and pays annual tribute to the city’s rich blues heritage. The Scene: Locals mingle with blues fans from around the world throughout Grant Park’s sprawling lakefront setting. Continuous musical performances on seven stages keep the joint jumping all day and into the night for four days straight. Hot Tip: Head over to Buddy Guy’s Legends (754 S. Wabash Ave., 312-427-0333) after the festival to see the evening’s headliners jam on stage. The bar’s iconic owner has been known to join in on the fun, as well.
Chicago Humanities Festival
Early October to mid-November, various venues chfestival.org
The Draw: Authors, scholars, poets, policy-makers, performers, and artists gather each fall at several Chicago cultural institutions for readings, seminars, concerts, and performances dedicated to “helping audience participants rediscover the rich and vital role the humanities play in their daily lives.” The Scene: Chicago’s cultural heavyweights, from theatre groups and dance troupes to recording artists, take their turn at the 12-day festival. Each year, the festival centers around a theme, such as “The Climate of Concern,” “Peace and War,” and “Brains and Beauty.” Performances take place everywhere from the Symphony Center to dive bars. Hot Tip: HotHouse (3111 N. Western Ave., 312-957-6073, hothouse.net), a long-standing and much-loved performance space that recently reopened at the Viaduct Theater after losing the lease on its South Loop space, is a best bet during the festival. Expect to see cutting-edge musicians from around the globe.
The Draw: Chicago takes its title as the birthplace of modern improvisational comedy seriously, hosting an annual festival each spring honoring the genre’s history and providing an educational forum for performers and audiences. The Scene: The Chicago Improv Festival takes place for a week at several performance spaces around town, including The Second City, the IO Comedy Theater, and the Lakeshore Theater. The festival books big-name comedians from TV and movies, plus a full roster of improv groups, to take the stage in an intimate, off-the-cuff atmosphere. Local comedians and fans turn out for performances, workshops, and events each night.
Hot Tip: After-parties are held each night of the festival at bars throughout the city, offering fans a chance to get up close and personal with their favorite comedians.
