CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Happy October, Chicago! Though you wouldn't know it if you went outside. This weekend's forecast has highs in the between the low 80s and mid to low 70s, but there is a chance of rain Saturday and Sunday. So, although I have said this many times, be sure to get out and enjoy this beautiful and warm early fall weather (when it's not raining) before it changes over to cold, because before you know it the bitter cold will be here.
With the start of October comes the opening of haunted houses and other fall and Halloween-themed pop-ups. Plus, it is still apple picking season, and now that it's October you can double it with pumpkin picking season and score both in one trip!
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Additionally for music lovers, Spring Awakening Music Festival returns in-person, and since it is in October rather than it's typical weekend in June, it has been titled "Autumn Equinox" and will take place at Addams-Medill Park in Chicago. And for country music fans, Dan + Shay are bringing their arena tour to the United Center on Saturday. Plus, Chicago Pride Fest returns this weekend for a three-day event with tons of live music and entertainment, so be sure to check out that lineup!
For sports fans, it's the end of regular season baseball and the Chicago Cubs travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox take on the Detroit Tigers at home at Guaranteed Rate Field. And it's Week 4 for the football season and the Chicago Bears take on their rival, the Detroit Lions, at home at Soldier Field!
Additionally, Open House Chicago kicks off this month highlighting more than 100 venues in more than 30 Chicago neighborhoods, North Shore suburbs, and Oak Park, with 30 trails for self-guided, outdoor exploration on themes, including community engagement, green spaces, historic preservation, residential architecture and more. Plus, theater performances have returned and the Broadway in Chicago box office is open, so be sure to grab some tickets for the upcoming performances this fall and winter.
Looking for a quick road trip idea? The Illinois Office of Tourism has released the 2021 Fall Color Report as a helpful guide to help residents and visitors know the best time to spot fall foliage in all regions across the state. Along with the Fall Color Report, the Illinois Office of Tourism has also released new road trip itineraries highlighting incredible fall experiences around Illinois. Each itinerary features unique places to stay, authentic small businesses to discover, places to eat, and one-of-a-kind outdoor adventures among the state’s changing leaves.
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Here's a look at things to do this weekend in Chicago and the suburbs:
Chicago Pride Fest
The 2021 Chicago Pride Fest will not only now span over three days, Oct. 1-3, due to the cancellation of Chicago's Pride Parade, but it will be packed with even more live music and entertainment than originally announced across three stages. There will also be arts and craft vendors, food and drink, drag shows, a pet parade, games, and giveaways. MORE INFO.
Where: Chicago's Northalsted neighborhood on Halsted Street from Addison to Grace Street
When: Friday, Oct 1. from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 2 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Cost: $15 suggested donation
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Spring Awakening
After going virtual in 2020, Spring Awakening Music Festival is back with an in-person event. And with it now taking place in October instead of its typical weekend in June, the festival title this year is "Autumn Equinox." Also a change this year: the event is taking place at Chicago's Addams-Medill Park, rather than in Hoffman Estates, as it did in 2019. The two-day party features multiple stages with acts like Diplo, Galantis, Martin Garrix, Dillon Francis, and more. MORE INFO.
Where: Addams-Medill Park, 1301 W 14th St
When: Saturday and Sunday
Cost: $169/VIP $289
Dan + Shay
Get ready Dan + Shay fans, because the date you've been waiting for is finally here! Three-time consecutive Grammy Award-winning duo Dan + Shay are gearing up to get back on the road with their headline Dan + Shay The (Arena) Tour kicking off with new 2021 dates, including a stop in Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 2 at the United Center. MORE INFO.
Where: United Center,
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Cost: Varies
Open House Chicago
Open House Chicago is a free public festival hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center that offers self-guided history and architecture trails throughout Chicago, talks and programming, and behind-the-scenes access to architecturally, historically, and culturally significant sites across the city.
Open House Chicago remains one of the largest events of its kind in the world. This year's program highlights more than 100 venues in more than 30 Chicago neighborhoods, North Shore suburbs, and Oak Park, with 30 trails for self-guided, outdoor exploration on themes, including community engagement, green spaces, historic preservation, residential architecture and more. Open House Chicago 2021 also includes a broad array of talks and virtual programs, as well as tips and itineraries for exploring shopping, dining, and other attractions in each neighborhood. MORE INFO.
Where: Various locations throughout Chicago
When: Now through Oct. 31
Cost: Free
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Jack's Pumpkin Pop-Up
Fall is here and with that comes the return of Chicago's largest fall-inspired pop-up in the Goose Island neighborhood. For a limited time, now through Oct. 31, guests are invited to take part in a "larger than life, outdoor, multi-sensory adventure in the heart of Chicago."
Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up will feature Chicago’s largest corn maze, axe throwing, photo ops, three full-service bars with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (plus one hidden in the middle of the corn maze), gypsy caravans with fortune tellers, carnival games, craft donuts, and pumpkins for sale -- of course! MORE INFO.
Where: 1467 N. Elston Ave.
When: Now through Oct. 31 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. weeknights and 1p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
Cost: $22+
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CHICAGO: Where Comics Came to Life (1880–1960)
A significant, but often overlooked contribution to American art and culture is Chicago’s role in the development of the early comic strip. Through its countless newspapers and its publishing industry, Chicago led the transformation of comics from daily fantasy and joke features into ongoing stories grounded in the textures and details of real life, its first real step towards legitimacy as an expressive language and semi-literary art form.
The exhibition focuses on the origins of the comics in popular publishing, the immeasurable importance of African-American cartoonists and publishing, the first woman cartoonists and editors, the first daily comic strip, and finally the art and comics of undeservedly forgotten Frank King, who with “Gasoline Alley” captured not only the rhythms and tone of everyday existence in his characters that aged not only at the same daily rate as its newspaper readers, but were also fictionalized versions of real people.
The exhibition is designed and planned as an intentional historical companion to the concurrently appearing survey of contemporary Chicago comics at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in which Ware’s work also appears. MORE INFO.
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North
When: Now through Oct. 3, open daily 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cost: Free
Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now
Chicago has been a center for comics for decades—a haven not only for making and publishing cartoons, but also for innovating on the medium. Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now tells the story of the art form in the influential city through the work of Chicago’s many cartoonists: known, under-recognized, and up-and-coming.
The exhibition traces the evolution of comics in Chicago, as cartoonists ventured beyond the pages of newspapers and into experimental territory including long-form storytelling, countercultural critique, and political activism. Chicago Comics examines styles, schools of thought, and modes of publication across six decades of cartooning, including works from artists who are changing the medium today. The exhibition seeks to bring to the fore artists of color who were previously under-recognized throughout their careers. In this pursuit, the exhibition features archival material previously not seen in museums and offers a revised history of the art form. Represented throughout this timeline are special sections that highlight key artists including Kerry James Marshall, Lynda Barry, and Chris Ware. MORE INFO.
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave.
When: Now through Oct. 3
Cost: Included in museum admission
Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes
Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes celebrates Marvel history with more than 300 artifacts including original comic book pages, sculptures, interactive displays, and costumes and props from Marvel’s blockbuster films. Guests can examine the origins of iconic characters such as Spider-Man, Black Panther, Hulk, and Captain Marvel and see how they have evolved alongside society over the past 80 years, making these characters a pop culture mainstay. MORE INFO.
Where: Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr.
When: Now through Oct. 24
Cost: Requires an additional, timed-entry ticket in addition to museum admission: Adults $18, Children (3-11) $14, Members $9
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Neon and Light Museum
The new Neon and Light Museum pop-up invites guests to stand in, under and around some 70 professional neon and light-based sculptures in a dazzling and dramatic immersive exhibition.
Among the highlights are certain to be: Breathe, a 14-foot-tall perspective-based neon sculpture created by artist John Bannon; Circle’s Edge, Monika Wulfer’s dynamic installation inviting participation with activated gas trapped in glass tubes; and an iconic neon self-portrait by legendary Beatle John Lennon. Other remarkable talent represented in neon and light includes internationally renowned British artist Sarah Blood, feminist neon artist Zoelle Nagib, pop sign artist Jason Pickleman, neon master bender Jacob Fishman, the digital imagery of Detroit’s Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza, the projected light of Gary Justis, the language play of San Francisco’s Helen Lee, and abstract sculptor Michael Young, and more.
The Neon and Light Museum is an expansion of the successful On Neon show presented here in 2020 by the Ken Saunders Gallery, which, since 1995, has exhibited the most important and innovative artists working with glass in the world. MORE INFO.
Where: 325 West Huron, River North, Chicago
When: Now through Oct. 31
Cost: $25
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Helmut Jahn: Life + Architecture
“HELMUT JAHN: LIFE + ARCHITECTURE,” running through October, is a retrospective organized in the wake of Jahn’s death in a bicycle accident in May.
According to the Chicago Architecture Center, the exhibit presents important designs by the powerhouse architect, ranging from signature early projects like the crystalline Michigan City Public Library (1977) and Chicago’s dazzlingly provocative James R. Thompson Center (1985) to the transformational urban marketplace Sony Center in Berlin (2000) and the forward-looking Pritzker Military Archives Center, currently under construction in Somers, Wisconsin.
“HELMUT JAHN: LIFE + ARCHITECTURE” showcases 17 scale models of some of Jahn’s most recognizable works in Chicago and around the world, said the CAC’s content manager, Ian Speela. It also will include photography and sketches illuminating each project and exploring the collaborative design and engineering process, while personal imagery, video, and recollections by those who knew and worked with Jahn underscore his flair for the dramatic and zest for life. Jahn’s career spanned more than 50 years. MORE INFO.
Where: Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E. Wacker Dr.
When: Now through Oct. 31
Cost: Free with general admission
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Immersive Van Gogh
Step inside of Starry Night and The Bedroom in Arles with the help of more than 75 digital projectors in this high-tech exhibition that explores the work of Vincent Van Gogh. Designed by the Italian creative team that worked on the "Atelier des Lumières" exhibitions in Paris, "Immersive Van Gogh" covers 35-foot walls with animated versions of the Dutch painters work, accompanied by a score that blends electronic and classical compositions. MORE INFO.
Where: Lighthouse ArtSpace, 108 W. Germania Pl.
When: Now through Nov. 28
Cost: $40-50
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WNDR museum
The home of Chicago's only Infinity Mirror Room (created by Japanese Yayoi Kusama) is open to the public once again, presenting a new collection of one-of-a-kind art installations alongside some old favorites. New additions to WNDR Museum include a multi-sensory experience from S̶A̶N̶T̶IA̶G̶O̶X that uses artificial intelligence, sounds, visuals and scents, as well as an installation called I Heard There Was a Secret Chord that allows guests to become part of an evolving virtual choir. MORE INFO.
Where: 1130 W. Monroe St.
When: Tickets available now through Dec. 31
Cost: $30
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Human+Nature
The Morton Arboretum’s next outdoor art exhibition, Human+Nature, will inspire awe and wonder as it connects people and trees. Internationally renowned artist Daniel Popper created five 15- to 26-foot-tall sculptures exclusively for the Arboretum that will be featured in various locations across its 1,700 acres, leading guests to areas they may not have explored before. It will be his largest exhibition to date anywhere in the world.
On the East Side, a short walk from the Visitor Center, guests will be able to step within a huge female figure, as if into the heart of nature. Continuing along a less than mile-long walk, they will encounter a majestic maternal figure as tall as a tree, and a sculpture of diverse human facial traits interwoven with root structures. On the West Side, two hands joined by intertwining roots will extend near a grove of old oaks, and a towering face will evoke the interconnectedness of humans and trees. Made of concrete, fiberglass, and steel, each sculpture will weigh several metric tons. The largest ground footprint will be 28 feet wide and 37 feet long.
Human+Nature will be included with timed-entry admission to the Arboretum. The exhibition is planned to run for at least one year. MORE INFO.
Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Rte 53, Lisle
When: Now through next year
Cost: Included with timed-entry Arboretum admission
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