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The Chicago Festival & Event Calendar

The whole year in one place: the marquee festivals, the neighborhood weekends, and the holiday season, with dates and official links for each. Months that have passed fold themselves away. Bookmark it; we keep it current.

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This week & next

    Dates move. Festivals shift weekends year to year, so treat this as the rhythm and confirm specifics on the city's official festival dates page and Choose Chicago's calendar. Anything marked free really is.

    January

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    February
    • Lunar New Year celebrations, Chinatown · lion dances down Wentworth, dress warm; dates follow the lunar calendar, 2026: Feb 15 to Mar 1, parade Mar 1
    • Museum free days · many museums offer Illinois-resident free days in deep winter, check each museum

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    March

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    April
    • Baseball returns · Cubs at Wrigley (2026 opener Mar 26), Sox on the South Side (Apr 2), and the neighborhoods around both wake up
    • EXPO Chicago · the international art fair at Navy Pier that opens gallery season, 2026: Apr 9 to 12
    • Farmers markets open · several run in tandem across the week, all over the city, spring through fall, 2026 outdoor season: Apr 4 to Nov 21
      See the market-by-market schedule

      Wednesdays: Green City Market Lincoln Park, 1817 N Clark, 7 am to 1 pm (May 6 to Oct 28) · Pullman, 11100 S Cottage Grove, 7 am to noon (Jul 8 to Oct 28)

      Thursdays: Daley Plaza, 50 W Washington, 7 am to 2 pm (May 21 to Oct 22) · Austin Town Hall, 5610 W Lake, 1 to 6 pm (Jun 11 to Oct 29)

      Saturdays: Division Street, 100 W Division, 7 am to noon (May 16 to Oct 24) · Green City Market Lincoln Park, 8 am to 1 pm (Apr 4 to Nov 21) · Green City Market West Loop, 900 W Monroe, 8 am to 1 pm (May 2 to Nov 21)

      Sundays: Bronzeville, 4702 S King Dr, 10 am to 2 pm (Jun 7 to Sep 27) · plus independent neighborhood markets like Logan Square and Lincoln Square

      Over 40 markets run citywide; the city's official schedule has the complete list, days, and Link Match details.

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    May
    • Maxwell Street Market · the historic Sunday bazaar, in its 114th year and back at Maxwell and Halsted, one Sunday a month, 10 am to 3 pm, 2026: May 17, Jun 7, Jul 19, Aug 9, Sep 13, Oct 4
    • Navy Pier fireworks season begins · Wednesday and Saturday nights over the lake, Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, 2026: May 23 to Sep 5

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    June

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    July
    • Taste of Chicago · the city's signature food festival, back in its July home in Grant Park, 2026: Jul 8 to 12
    • Independence Day fireworks · Navy Pier, plus the twice-weekly pier fireworks all summer, Jul 4
    • Square Roots Festival · Lincoln Square's music and craft beer weekend, by the Old Town School, 2026: Jul 10 to 12
    • Chicago Gospel Music Festival · free, Millennium Park; traditionally early summer, 2026: Jul 24 to 25
    • Wicker Park Fest · Milwaukee Avenue's big one, the last full weekend of July, 2026: Jul 24 to 26
    • The street fest engine · nearly every neighborhood throws one summer weekend party; there is one near you. Far more happen than fit this page: Choose Chicago's festival guide tracks the full sprawl, all summer

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    August
    • Lollapalooza · Grant Park, the big one, 2026: Jul 30 to Aug 2
    • Northalsted Market Days · one of the Midwest's largest street festivals, on Halsted, 2026: Aug 7 to 9
    • Bud Billiken Parade · the country's oldest and largest African American parade, Bronzeville, second Saturday, 2026: Aug 8
    • Chicago Air & Water Show · free, the lakefront's roaring weekend, North Avenue Beach centerline, 2026: Aug 15 to 16

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    September

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    October
    • Chicago Marathon · second Sunday; 26.2 miles through 29 neighborhoods, spectating is a city tradition, 2026: Oct 11
    • Chicago International Film Festival · North America's longest-running competitive film festival, 2026: Oct 14 to 25
    • Open House Chicago · free; one weekend when hundreds of significant buildings open their doors. Our favorite weekend of the year, for obvious reasons, 2026: Oct 17 to 18
    • Arts in the Dark Halloween parade · the nighttime parade, now marching through Grant Park, 2026: Oct 24

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    November
    • Magnificent Mile Lights Festival · the tree-lighting procession down Michigan Avenue, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, 2026: Nov 21
    • Christkindlmarket · free to enter; the German holiday market at Daley Plaza. Get the mug, typically the Friday before Thanksgiving through Dec 24; 2026 details pending
    • Thanksgiving Parade · Thanksgiving morning on State Street, 2026: Nov 26

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    December

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    New to the area entirely? Start with our Chicagoland for newcomers page: the grid, the lake, the trees, and the local rules nobody warns you about.

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    We send this calendar to our clients because loving where you live is the point of the whole exercise. When the next move comes, renting, buying, or selling, we would love to help.

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