Summer in Chicago: best beaches, pools and things to do in the sun
Discover the best summer music festivals, sandy beaches, parades, food fetes, summer blockbusters and more things to do this summer in Chicago.
Summer in Chicago is almost here: the season we pine for while suffering through indignities like blinding snowstorms and the worst spring ever. And this summer, we have a lot to be excited about. The best live music in town will be on stage at Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, both of which have stellar lineups this year. And some of the city's most classic restaurants will be represented at Taste of Chicago (new this year: food trucks!). Here, find all the fests, concerts, art shows and more that make Chicago the best city in the world (in the summer, anyway).
Things to do this summer in Chicago
Gay & Lesbian
Art & Design
Dance
Summer festival ticket giveaways
Lollapalooza ticket giveaway
Enter to win a pair of three-day passes to Lollapalooza 2013!
Spring Awakening ticket giveaway
Enter to win a pair of three-day passes to Spring Awakening Music Festival!
Summer festival photos
Lollapalooza 2012
Faces in the Lolla crowd.
Mud people at Lollapalooza 2012
Slipping, sliding, wrestling and finger-painting, some fest-goers got really into the mud. We stood by, agape, and took photos.
Apocapalooza 2012
The National Weather Service said a storm was a-brewin', and that everyone needed to get the hell out of Grant Park.
Pitchfork Music Festival 2012
We covered Every. Single. Band. Check out reviews and photos from the entire weekend.
North Coast Music Festival 2012
Reviews and photos from all three days of the 2012 North Coast Music Fest.
Wavefront Music Fest 2012
Bros in trunks fake-punching each other and ladies in bikinis dancing to the untzz untzz at the beachfront fest.
Taste Of Chicago 2012
Cheesecake on a stick, anyone?
Taste of Randolph Street 2012
Restaurant Row eats and an always-impressive band lineup make this a must-see fest.
Wicker Park Festival 2012
Scenes from last year's packed-to-the-gills fest.
