By Philip Vidal
I am writing this article at the end of May, and for much of the month it has been 20 degrees below normal. We all look forward to warmer weather, and I have high hopes for June, when again there is a wide range of indoor and outdoor events planned.
A highly anticipated culinary event! The 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards will take place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 16. Photo by James Beard Foundation.
In June we have what is often described as the “Oscars of the food world.” Since 2015, Chicago has hosted the annual James Beard Awards®, now in its 35th year. I’m honored to know Chef David Jackman of Cincinnati’s Wildweed restaurant, who is one of the five finalists in the Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) category. The winners will be announced on June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago at the Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.
Chicago’s Mr. Beef was the inspiration for the wildly popular FX series “The Bear” about a fictional Chicago restaurant. Season four of “The Bear” premieres on Hulu and Disney+ on June 25. In the 1980s, I worked around the corner from Mr. Beef on Orleans, so I’ve had my fill of Italian beef sandwiches, but I’ve never had a famous Maxwell Street pork chop sandwich, even though I attended St. Ignatius College Prep nearby. I plan to remedy that this summer. The Maxwell Street Market returned last season to where it originally began in the late 19th century (on Maxwell Street). The market is on Sundays, June 8, July 13, Aug 10, Sept 14 and October 5. On those days, free Maxwell Street walking tours are offered by the Maxwell Street Foundation.
June means the SOAR Farmers Market is back in front of the MCA! Every Tuesday through October, The SOAR Farmers Market has a plentitude of vendors for all your needs! Photo courtesy of SOAR Farmers Market.
One thing I’m most cherish in June is the opening of my local farmers market, the Tuesday SOAR Farmers Market in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art on June 3. There are dozens of farmers markets across Chicago and the suburbs, but this one is close to home. I have not bought from the stand with fresh mushrooms, and local mushrooms are high on my list to enjoy this summer!
Of course, food (along with live music and people-watching) is a major component of Chicago’s many outdoor summer street festivals. Many of them will feature food from Chicago’s diverse ethnic communities.
June is a great month for cultural festivals in the city! The Scottish Festival and Highland Games returns the weekend of June 13 and 14 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Scots.
The jibarito, a green plantain sandwich with meat filling, was invented here in Chicago. I’m sure it will be on offer at the 41st annual Puerto Rican Festival, which is June 12-15 in Humboldt Park. The 39th annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on June 13-14 are organized by Chicago Scots (The Illinois Saint Andrew Society), founded in 1845 it’s the oldest not-for-profit in Illinois. Some of the food-focused events at the festival include a haggis eating contest, a haggis hurling contest (don’t ask; I don’t want to know; this included for completeness), and a signature shortbread contest. In its 5th year, the Thai Festival Chicago on the grounds of Thorek Memorial Hospital runs June 14-15. Celebrating Swedish culture and food, Midsommarfest, in its 59th year in Andersonville, is June 13-15. Geneva’s 75th annual Swedish Days festival runs June 18-22. The Gold Coast Greek Fest at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral is June 20-22.
Summer’s art events are also noteworthy, and many move from the indoors to the outdoors. Sure to be the blockbuster of the summer is the Art Institute of Chicago’s “Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World” exhibition running June 29-October 5. One of the Art Institute’s most famous paintings, the monumental “Paris Street; Rainy Day” (1877) is the centerpiece of the show.
Find a masterpiece at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual “The Art Auction” dinner and auction at the museum on June 6. Artist Ed Ruscha is the 2025 honoree; I saw the Ruscha retrospective at LACMA last year and it was terrific.
Celebrating 75 years! The legendary Old Town Art Fair features 230 artists across the country and its popular Garden Walk on June 14-15. Photo courtesy of Old Town Art Fair.
Discover the next Caillebotte or Picasso at Chicago’s outdoor art fairs. The 78th annual 57th Street Art Fair, the Midwest oldest juried art fair is June 7-8. Celebrating 50 years, the Wells Street Art Fair is June 14-15, as is the Old Town Art Fair, which is celebrating 75 years and includes a garden walk.
Novea Linea’s inaugural season concludes with “Chicago!,” a performance presented by Chicago-based artists like In Triplicate. Photo courtesy of Novea Linea Musica.
Before live music moves mostly outdoors this summer, a few indoor events of note are: the last concert in Novea Linea’s inaugural 2024/2025 season is “Chicago!,” featuring Chicago-based composers and artists at Guarneri Hall on June 4; and “To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim” at the Studebaker Theater on June 14. The Tony Award® and Grammy® nominee, Emmy® winner, and daughter of the late John Callaway, host of WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” returns to her hometown to perform works by Steven Sondheim. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Third Coast Percussion is hosting “Rhythm Fest” on June 28 at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. It’s an all-day festival featuring percussion legends, guest artists, art installations, and family-friendly music education.
Festival season continues throughout the Chicagoland area including the Grant Park Music Festival which begins June 11. Photo by Norman Timonera.
The Ravinia Festival, North America’s oldest music festival, which opens June 5 in Highland Park, usually ends in mid-September, but this year it ends on August 31 to make way for a major renovation of the Ravinia Pavilion. The Grant Park Music Festival runs June 11-August 15 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and the Harris Theater and venues throughout the city. This is the first season under artistic director and principal conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The Millennium Park Summer Music Series runs Mondays and Thursdays, June 16-August 7, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
For something a bit more intimate, Glessner House offers two concerts this month as part of their summer Courtyard Concert series: The Chen String Quartet, led by Robert Chen, concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on June 23 and Second City Jazz on June 25. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago offers free live music performances, Tuesdays on the Terrace, in its Anne and John Kern Terrace Garden, June 24-August 26.
Chicago Opera Theater proudly presents “She Who Dares” at Studebaker Theater. The opera shines a spotlight on the courageous woman who challenged segregation before and alongside Rosa Parks, June 3, 6 and 8. Photo courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater.
June is Black Music Month. It opens with the world premiere of Chicago Opera Theater’s “She Who Dared” on June 3, 6 and 8 at the Studebaker Theater. It’s the first professionally produced opera in the United States by two Black female artists Jasmine Arielle Barnes and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. The final performance of soprano Karen Slack’s three-part recital series as Lyric Unlimited’s 2024/2025 artist-in-residence features the music of composer Florence Price. The “Beyond the Years” concert is June 14 at First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple. Celebrating the music of Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle, Black Ensemble Theater presents “That’s What Friends Are For: Gladys, Dionne and Patti” June 7-July 27. The largest free blues festival in the world, the Chicago Blues Festival, runs June 5-8 at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Harris Theater Rooftop Terrace, the Ramova Theatre and Maxwell Street.
Tony Award®-winning Christopher Wheeldon’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is sure to be a hit for the whole family! The Joffrey Ballet closes out the season with performances during the month of June at the Lyric Opera House. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.
June is Chicago Dance Month with free performances and lessons throughout the city. Chicago SummerDance is a citywide, summer-long free outdoor series of dance and movement lessons for all skill levels led by professional instructors. The Joffrey Ballet closes its 69th season with two-time Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” in an extended run, June 5-22, at the Lyric Opera House.
June is Pride Month culminating in the 54th annual Chicago Pride Parade on June 29, one of the largest LGBTQ+ Pride parades in the world.
Summer time is quickly approaching and so are Movies in the Parks across Chicago! Photo by Chicago Park District.
The Gene Siskel Film Center bring new meaning to ‘summer camp’. Their Summer Camp series running June 1-30 features the best of the bad like “Mommy Dearest.” This series is eligible for the discount Siskel Summer Pass. Part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks, the 22nd season of Movies in the Parks runs citywide June 10-September 13.
I hope the weather warms by the summer solstice on June 21. There’s a wide variety of events that day: participate in Make Music Chicago, a free, one-day, citywide, DIY music festival; join the 4th biennial Modernism Home Tour hosted by the Edith Farnsworth House which focuses on five homes in the Chicago suburb, Riverwoods; or attend the Dragon Boat Race for Literacy at Chinatown’s Ping Tom Memorial Park.
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.
