Arts and Entertainment

Bailiwick Repertory Theater / Bailiwick Arts Center

1229 W. Belmont, Chicago 60657

773-883-1090

Black Ensemble Theater

4520 N. Beacon, Chicago, IL 60610

773-769-4451

Cadillac Palace Theater

151 W. Randolph St., Chicago 60601

Oriental Theater/Ford Center for the Performing Arts

24 W. Randolph St., Chicago 60601

312-902-1400

The Shubert Theatre

22 W. Monroe, Chicago 60603

312-902-1400

Chicago Opera Theater

2936 N. Southport, Chicago, IL 60657

773-292-7578

Chicago Opera Theater has been advancing the cause of opera as a vital, living American art form, developing the artists who create it and expanding the scope and diversity of the audience. Operas, which are performed in English, are presented at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60611

312-595-5600

Formerly known as Shakespeare Repertory Theater, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is Chicago's only professional theater dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare. In a single decade, it has grown into Chicago's third-largest nonprofit producing theater,

Child's Play Touring Theatre

2518 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL 60647

773-235-8911

DePaul Merle Reskin Theatre

60 E. Balbo Dr., Chicago, IL 60605

Box Office: 312-922-1999

Group Sales: 312-922-0999

e-mail: lgoetsch@wppost.depaul.edu

Emerald City Theatre Company

2936 N. Southport, Chicago 60614

773-935-6100

ETA Creative Arts Foundation

7558 S. South Chicago Ave., Chicago 60619

773-752-3955

The Theatre Building

1225 W. Belmont, Chicago 60657

773-327-5252

For over 25 years, the voice of the playwright has always taken center stage at Victory Gardens. Home to more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, Victory Gardens enters each anniversary season with an unwavering commitment to new voices in American theater and Chicago playwrights.

Millennium Park 55 N Michigan Ave Chicago, IL 60611 312-742-5222

The city's dedication to the arts and beautification of Chicago's lakefront and downtown continues with the Millennium Park project. The 24.6-acre park, which covers the area from Randolph to Monroe Street (north/south) and Columbus Drive to Michigan Avenue (east/west), will include: the McCormick-Tribune outdoor ice rink, the Peristyle, the Outdoor Music Pavilion, a garden, a public fountain, the Ameritech Plaza, a music-dance theater, a bike garage, a special-events tent and several restaurants. The ice rink is free to the public, faces Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison streets, and will be used as an outdoor restaurant and activity center during non-winter months.

More than a park, it is a breathtaking showcase for the visual and performing arts and a permanent homage to the vitality and creativity of our world-class city.  

Auditorium Theatre 50 East Congress Parkway 312-902-1500

Cadillac Palace Theater 151 West Randolph Street 312-902-1400

Chicago Symphony Orchestra 220 South Michigan Avenue 312-294-3000

Chicago Theatre 175 North State Street 312-443-1130

Ford Center for the Performing Arts 24 West Randolph Street 312-902-1400

Goodman Theatre 170 North Dearborn 312-443-3800

Lyric Opera 20 North Wacker Drive 312-332-2244

Shubert Theatre 22 West Monroe Street 312-977-1700

The Renaissance Society Bergman Gallery, Cobb, Tuesday—Friday: 10:00—5:00. Saturday—Sunday: noon—5:00 Free admission Established in 1915, The Renaissance Society is Chicago's oldest contemporary art museum and maintains an international reputation as one of the finest resources for contemporary art. It also sponsors concerts, performances, film and video screenings, and talks by noted artists and critics.

Sports

Beaches

Public beaches line Lake Michigan all the way up north into the suburbs and Wisconsin, and southeast through Indiana and into Michigan. The best known is Oak Street Beach, the location of which at the northern tip of the Magnificent Mile

The most popular is North Avenue Beach, about 6 blocks farther north, which has developed into a volleyball hot spot and recently rebuilt its landmark steamship-shaped beach house and added a Venice Beach-style outdoor gym.

For more seclusion, try Ohio Street Beach, an intimate sliver of sand in tiny Olive Park, just north of Navy Pier,

Beaches are officially open with of lifeguards on duty beginning about June 20.

Biking

Biking is a great way to see the city, particularly along the lakefront bike path that us.

Ice Skating

The city's premier skating destination is the McCormick-Tribune Ice Rink at Millennium Park, 55 N. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/742-5222). The location is unbeatable; you're skating in the shadows of grand skyscrapers and within view of the lake. The rink is open daily from 9am to 9pm November through March. Admission is free, and skate rentals are nominally priced.

Swimming

The Chicago Park District maintains about 30 indoor pools for lap swimming and general splashing around, but none are particularly convenient to downtown. The lakefront is open for swimming until 9:30pm Memorial Day to Labor Day in areas watched over by lifeguards (For more information, call the park district's beach and pool office (tel.

Baseball

Baseball is imprinted in the national consciousness as part of Chicago, not because of victorious dynasties, but rather because of the opposite : the Black Sox scandal of 1919 and the perennially losing Cubs.

Chicago Cubs. The Cubbies haven't made a World Series appearance since 1945 and haven't been World Champs since 1908, but when the team plays in so perfect a place as Wrigley Field, with its ivy-covered outfield walls, its hand-operated scoreboard, its view of the shimmering lake from the upper deck, and its "W" or "L" flag announcing the outcome of the game to the unfortunates who couldn't attend, how could anyone stay away? After all the strikes and temper tantrums and other nonsense, Wrigley has managed to hold on to something like purity. Yes, Chicago Tribune-owned Wrigley finally installed lights a decade ago, but by agreement with the residential neighborhood it occupies, the Cubs still play most games in the daylight, as they should.

No matter how the Cubs are doing, tickets go fast; most weekend and night games are sold out by Memorial Day. Your best bet is to hit a weekday game, or try your luck buying a ticket on game day outside the park (you'll often find some season-ticket holders looking to unload a few seats).

Wrigley Field

1060 W. Addison St.

773/404-CUBS

Take the Red Line to the Addison stop or the No. 22 bus, which runs up Clark Street.

To order tickets in person, stop by the ticket windows at Wrigley Field, Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, Saturday from 9am to 4pm, and on game days.

Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914 and  has played host to Major League Baseball for over 90 years.

Wrigley Field has been the site of such historic moments as:

1.  Babe Ruth's "called shot," when Ruth allegedly pointed to a bleacher location during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series ... Ruth then hit Charlie Root's next pitch for a homer.

2.  Gabby Hartnett's famous "Homer in the Gloamin' " September 28, 1938, vs. Pittsburgh's Mace Brown.

3.  the great May 2, 1917, pitching duel between Jim "Hippo" Vaughn and the Reds' Fred Toney ... both Vaughn and Toney threw no-hitters for 9.0 innings before Cincinnati's Jim Thorpe (of Olympic fame) drove in the only run in the 10th inning ... Toney finished with a no-hitter.

4.  Ernie Banks' 500th career home run May 12, 1970, vs. Atlanta's Pat Arvis.

5.  Sammy Sosa's 60th home runs in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

U.S. Cellular Field - home of the Chicago White Sox 333 W. 35th St.

312/674-1000 in the South White Sox Park was originally built in 1910 by Charles A. Comiskey and soon became known as Comiskey Park. The park served as the home of the White Sox for the next 80 years until New Comiskey Park opened in 1991.

n 2003, the Chicago White Sox and U.S. Cellular forged a unique partnership, renaming the ballpark US Cellular Field.  The agreement calls for U.S. Cellular to pay $68 million to the White Sox over the next 20 years in exchange for naming rights through 2025. All revenue from the deal will go directly to improving the "fan experience" at the ballpark.

This agreement created the opportunity for dramatic, fan-focused renovations and improvements to the park. A fully renovated U.S. Cellular Field is expected to be completed by Opening Day 2005.  

Basketball

The United Center, 1901 W. Madison St.

 312/455-4500

where the Bulls play, feels like an airplane hangar-size funeral parlor these days. For the time being, tickets, once impossible to come by, are worth about as much as the paper they're printed on. So grab yourself a courtside seat : there are plenty to go around.

Football

The Chicago Bears

Soldier Field

at Lake Shore Drive and 16th Street

847/615-2327

The Bears play at the newly renovated Soldier Field

stadium which replaced the original, built to commemorate the soldiers of World War I, which was badly in need of repair.

The original stadium's most distinctive feature: its classically-inspired colonnade, was retained, and a large addition was added on top.

Hockey

The Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks play at the United Center

1901 W. Madison St. 

312/455-4500

The Blackhawks have a devoted following of fans that turn out to cheer for the team which produced past Hawks legends Bobby Hull and Tony Esposito.

Midway Plaisance Park Ice Skating 59th Street between University and Ellis Avenues Recreational ice skating, ice skating classes, and ice hockey in the winter. Skate rental is available. Inline skating, outdoor movies, and concerts in the summer.

Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena

847/724-GOAL

The team has been consistently excellent over the past few years, and the games are geared toward all ages, with fireworks before the show and a tradition of on- and off-ice entertainment.

Horse Racing

Arlington International Racecourse

2200 W. Euclid Ave.

Arlington Heights

847/255-4300

Thoroughbred racing

Hawthorne Race Track

3501 S. Laramie Ave.

Stickney

708/780-3700).

Thoroughbred racing

Soccer

Chicago's major-league soccer team, the Chicago Fire, plays at Soldier Field from late May through October

888/MLS-FIRE

Games have a family feel, with plenty of activities for children and affordable ticket prices.  

Events

Annual Hyde Park Events

57th Street Art Fair

Every June, 500 exhibitors show their handiwork during the Midwest's oldest outdoor juried art fair.

Boulevard Lakefront Tour

A bike tour of Chicago's historic boulevards and scenic neighborhoods starts and finishes on the Midway Plaisance. More than 5,000 bicyclists participate each June. See www.chibikefed.org for more info.

4th on 53rd Parade

In this annual Fourth of July celebration, a parade of citizens and community groups winds through Hyde Park and ends up in Nichols Park, where family activities are held.

57th Street Children's Book Fair

Each September, books come to life for children and their families through storytelling, singing, bookmaking, and make-believe.

Chicago Half Marathon

Every September nearly 6,000 runners take part in the 13.1-mile run, which starts and finishes at the Museum of Science and Industry.

World Music Festival Chicago

The fall festival is part of a citywide celebration of music from around the world. Check out the artists and locations at

Thanksgiving Community Service

A project of the Hyde Park/Kenwood Interfaith Council in partnership with Rockefeller Chapel; the community service is oriented toward children.

January

 Winter Celebration in Lights View holiday lights and beautiful plants in the largest glass greenhouse in the U.S. Bring the kids and enjoy interactive events in the Elizabeth Mores Genus Children’s Garden. Located at The Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Avenue through the first week of January. Call (312) 746-5100 for more information.  

February

Around the Coyote Winter Festival Attend this annual studio walk and view works from over 400 artists including art performances in the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods. This event is sponsored by the resident artists and takes place during the first week of February. Call (312) 744-2400 for more information.  

Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Teams come out to compete at building a machine that takes an allotted number of steps to complete a certain task. Hosted by the Chicago Children’s Museum. Located at Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand Avenue, in the middle of February. Call (312) 527-1000 for more information.  

Auto Show Come to one of the country’s oldest expos of contemporary cars. Get a firsthand look at what’s new. Located at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lakeshore Drive, for two weeks in the middle of February. Call (312) 791-7000 for more information.  

March 

Chicago Bike Show Check out the annual bike show where bike manufacturers and bike clubs come together in one location. Located at the Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue, usually held at the end of March. Call (312) 595-PIER for more information.  

St. Patrick’s Day Parade Come out and join the fun at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. For the past 40 years, the Chicago river has turned green in the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. The parade begins at noon on Dearborn Street, between Wacker and Van Buren, then down the State Street Mall on March 17. Call (312) 744-3315 for more information.  

Golf Around Chicago Play miniature golf on this city like course with each hole depicting a Chicago landmark or Chicago's culture. All proceeds from the event benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago. Located in the Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue, 10 AM - 5 PM daily, later on the weekends. Usually held the second week in March. Call (312) 595-7437 for more information.  

April