By Philip Vidal
It’s time for summer vacations! I submitted this “About the Town in July” article in late June, just before leaving for England, Scotland and Iceland. My trip began in London, where I planned to see a bit of Chicago there. The White Cube Bermondsey gallery hosted the “Richard Hunt: Metamorphosis – Retrospective” exhibition through June 29. It was the first retrospective in London of work by Chicagoan Richard Hunt (1935–2023), one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th and 21st centuries. I met him several times; he was a very nice guy.
Discover Richard Hunt’s artistic achievement in the exhibit presented by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, “Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt,” starting July 11 at the Loyola University Museum of Art. Photo by Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
If you weren’t able to see the Richard Hunt exhibition in London, fear not. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum presents the “Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt” exhibition at Loyola University Museum of Art, 820 North Michigan Avenue, July 11-November 15.
Chicago’s official motto is the Latin Urbs in Horto, meaning ‘city in a garden.’ The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s exhibition “City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago” is based on that motto. The exhibition presents pieces by more than thirty Chicago-based artists and collectives working in Chicago from the 1980s to present and runs July 5-May 31, 2026.
Chicago Botanic Garden’s collaboration with The Seldoms presents “Superbloom,” combining dance, live music, animation, and costume and lighting design at Nichols Hall, July 25-27. Photo credit to William Frederking.
See dance in a garden when the Chicago-based dance company The Seldoms perform their multimedia dance piece “Superbloom” at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Nichols Hall, July 25-27. If you miss that performance, a video version of “Superbloom” is projected on the Art on THE MART, the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, (Thursday-Sundays) July 10-September 7.
July is for Garden Walks! Take a stroll through the several garden walks happening around the city this month. Photo courtesy of Sheffield Neighborhood Association.
And then there are walks in a garden. Chicago has some of the country’s longest-running garden walks. The 52nd annual Edgewater Glen Garden Walk on July 13. The 65th annual Dearborn Garden WalkSM is July 20 and also features guided architectural tours and garden seminars. The 68th annual Ravenswood Manor Garden Walk is July 27 and concludes with a free live concert by the Horner Park Jazz Band. In its 54th year, the Sheffield Garden Walk, July 19-20, also features live music as well as architectural tours presented by the Chicago Architecture Center.
And then there are concerts on the river. It’s the fourth season of the Secret River Show concert series. The performers are usually on a concrete pillar in the Chicago River, but the upcoming concert on July 19 promises a musical River Parade with bands performing on floating stages on the North Branch of the Chicago River between Diversey and Irving Park Road. Enjoy the parade from a bridge, select spots along the shore, or a kayak.
The festivals continue! From Lollapalooza in Grant Park later this month to Square Roots Festival in Lincoln Square, live music will be heard around Chicago. Photo by Square Roots Festival.
Also on July 19th is Volleywood at North Avenue Beach, which is billed as Chicago’s biggest beachfront music festival and the Midwest’s largest adult beach volleyball tournament. Chicago’s biggest music festival, Lollapalooza, now in its 34th year, is July 31-August 3 in Grant Park. For something more family-friendly, the Square Roots Festival, styled as “A Real Nice Chicago Street Fest,” runs July 11-13 in Lincoln Square.
Food and drink festivals are also popping up around Chicago this month. Ravenswood hosts their Ravenswood on Tap Craft Beer and Music Festival, July 19-20. Photo by Ravenswood Community Council.
The Windy City Smokeout, running July 10-13 outside the United Center, is billed as the nation’s premier BBQ and country music festival. Burgers and music are featured at the 18th annual Roscoe Village Burger Fest, July 18-20, on Belmont Avenue and includes a Best Burger in Chicago competition. That same weekend, July 19-20, is the Ravenswood on Tap Craft Beer and Music Festival featuring the brewers and distillers of Chicago’s Malt Row. I’ve seen bottles of Champagne opened with the quick swipe of a saber; Ravenswood on Tap includes swordplay demos and ax throwing, which I’m curious to see… safely from a distance.
The annual Pierogi Fest®, July 25-27, in nearby Whiting, Indiana, is among the largest festivals in Chicagoland. Besides food vendors, the fest features a Polka Parade, as well as a pierogi toss and pierogi eating contests.
The 3rd Annual Summer Mela presented by Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts takes place on July 12 at the Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens. Enjoy a day of family-friendly events and performances. Photo courtesy of Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts.
Other ethnic festivals featuring food, music and more in Chicago include the Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts’ 3rd annual Summer Mela at the Chicago Women’s Park and Gardens, 1801 South Indiana on July 12. The eight-hour family-friendly event presents live music and dance, and features South Asian cuisine and retail vendors.
The Hungarian Gulyás Festival is July 12-13 at the Norridge United Church of Christ. The annual Chinatown Summer Fair at Wentworth and Cermak is July 26-27. The Tacos y Tamales Festival, July 18-20, became so popular that it outgrew its previous location at 16th and Peoria. It’s new, larger location is on Blue Island, between Ashland and Wolcott. The largest Latino festival in the Midwest, the 53rd annual Fiesta de Sol, runs July 31-Aug 3 on Cermak between Morgan and Ashland.
Alliance Française de Chicago hosts its annual Bastille Day Celebration the afternoon and evening of July 12 featuring entertainment and delicious bites. Photo by Alliance Française de Chicago.
The late restaurateur George Badonsky had a string of restaurants including The Brewery and Tango in Chicago’s East Lakeview neighborhood, where I grew up. He also had George’s, Maxim’s and Le Bastille. I recall that every July 14 — Bastille Day, Frances’s national holiday — Badonsky organized a “fête” at Le Bastille, which included an outdoor wine-carrying competition for waitstaff, who remarkably could move without spilling a drop. Very near where Le Bastille used to be is the Alliance Française de Chicago, which is hosting its annual Bastille Day Celebration on July 12 with afternoon and evening events. Celebrate French culture at Navy Pier’s Polk Bros. Park at Bastille Day – a free event sponsored by the Committee of French Speaking Societies on July 13.
If you didn’t get enough French culture during the Bastille Day celebrations, then head downstairs at the Chopin Theatre. The entire basement of the Chopin, including the lobby, bar and café, is transformed into an immersive bit of Paris when Kokandy Productions presents the Chicago premiere of “Amélie” based on the 2001 film of the same name, July 17-September 28.
Step back in time with “Secret Byrd” as it arrives to Chicago with its premiere at Salvage One, July 20-21. Photo credit to Rob Youngson.
Another unique experience is the Chicago premiere of Concert Theater Works’ “Secret Byrd” at Salvage One, July 20-21, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of composer William Byrd. Co-commissioned by St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and the Washington National Cathedral, D.C., it’s a candlelit, fully immersive re-creation of a clandestine 16th century English Catholic mass. After religiously watching all three seasons of “Wolf Hall” about Thomas Cromwell on WTTW, I’d like to see “Secret Byrd.”
I’ve mentioned in other articles that Chicago seems to be a beta site for Broadway. With Broadway in mind, Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the world premiere of “Billie Jean” about tennis star Billie Jean King, July 18-August 10. When Billie Jean King lived in Chicago, I used to see her at my gym.
It’s summer, and there are many outdoor sports events this month. The FIFA Club World Cup 2025TM quadrennial tournament features the world’s leading soccer teams playing in eleven cities around the U.S. through July 13. Despite having two soccer teams, the Stars and Fire, and lots of enthusiastic soccer fans, Chicago is not among those cities, but Chicago is hosting a Premier League Summer Series exhibition tournament at Soldier Field on July 30, when West Ham United plays Everton, and Manchester United plays AFC Bournemouth.
NASCAR returns to Chicago for the third year of the Chicago Street Race! Catch the action July 5 and 6 in the heart of downtown. Photo by Choose Chicago/NASCAR.
Chicago’s many sports events make it the perfect place for a staycation. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race, our version of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, is back this summer, July 5-6. We have our own version of the America’s Cup with the 116th Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac, July 18-19. The Chicago Yacht Club is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Instead of racing through France in the Tour de France, cyclists here will be winding their way through Chicagoland during the Chicago Grit championship cycling races, July 18-27.
I’ll miss the Henley Regatta on my trip to England, but I’ll be back in Chicago in time for some Henley-style racing at the 45th Chicago Sprints Regatta July 11-13 in the Lincoln Park Lagoon. Proof that Chicago has it all.
Happy Independence Day! Enjoy your summer!
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.
