Festival Fun
- Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community at Chicago Pride Fest, featuring three stages of music, over 150 art vendors, DJs, drag shows, a pet parade and more Headliners include Heather Small, Slayyyter, Meet Me @ The Altar, JORDY, Eureka O’Hara, Bbymutha and more. From June 17-18 on Halsted from Addison to Grace. Admission: $15 suggested donation. Visit northhalsted.com.
- Scottish Festival and Highland Games include a bagpiping competition, marketplace, car show, caber toss, haggis throwing, Scottish food, children’s activities and more. From June 16-17 at Hamilton Lakes, 1 Pierce Place, Itasca. Admission: $20, $30, children 12 and under free. Visit chicagoscots.org.
- Taste of Randolph features a lineup of food from area restaurants and music from Jamila Woods, Digable Planets, Shallou, Chris Lorenzo, Super Duper Kyle, Derrick Carter and more. From June 16-18 at 900 W. Randolph. Admission: $10 suggested donation. Visit starevents.com.
Lakeside Fun
- Nine colorful catamarans, each representing a different country, take to Lake Michigan for the Rolex U.S. Sail Grand Prix, the SailGP season opener. June 16-17 at the east end of Navy Pier, 1000 E. Grand. Tickets: $35+. The race may be viewed along the lakefront from the pier to the Adler Planetarium. Visit sailgp.com.
Theater
- Jackalope Theatre presents “Pretty Shahid,” Omer Abbas Salem’s romantic comedy about self-identity, which uses classic film tropes to tell the story of an Iraqi family attempting to assimilate and live in America. Sophiyaa Nayer directs. From June 16-July 23 at Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway. Tickets: $5-$35. Visit jackalopetheatre.org.
- “Hadestown,” a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back, is Anais Mitchell’s Tony Award-winning musical that follows two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone. Rachel Chavkin directs. From June 20-25 at CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe. Tickets: $44. Visit broadwayinchicago.com.
- Celebrate the life and legacy of an iconic American singer at “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” Alan Jones’ musical celebration that includes all the hits — “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” “Oh Boy” and many more. Amber Mak directs. Form June 21-Aug. 13 at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire. Tickets: $54+. Visit marriotttheatre.com.
- Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of John Buchan’s novel “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced whodunit filled with nonstop laughs and more than 150 characters played by four actors. Tony Award and Olivier Award nominee Gavin Lee leads the cast; Johanna McKenzie Miller directs. From June 21-Aug. 13 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Tickets: $54-$74. Visit drurylanetheatre.com.
- Kayla Boye’s one-woman show, “Call Me Elizabeth,” is a portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor as she recounts moments in her early life and career and grapples with the culture of celebrity. Michael Weber directs. From June 16-18 at Mercury Theater Chicago’s Venus Cabaret Theater, 3745 N. Southport. Tickets: $35. Visit mercurytheaterchicago.com.
- “Puffs, or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic” is Matt Cox’s parody of the Harry Potter books as told through the perspective of Puffs, who also studied at a certain popular Wizard School. From June 15-July 23 at Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark. Tickets: $25. Visit otherworldtheatre.org.
- Babes With Blades presents “Fighting Words 2023,” a script development series featuring three scripts: Jillian Leff’s “The Gatekeepers,” Desi Moreno-Penson’s “Sin Agua” and Rachel Lynett’s “Rich B*tch.” From June 17-24 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W. Catalpa. Admission is free. Visit babeswithblades.org
Celebrate Juneteenth
- The annual Juneteenth Community BBQ includes music performances, a marketplace, children’s activities, a drum village, free health testing, food and more. Plus a tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip hop with a discussion featuring Kool Moe Dee. From 10 a.m.-8 p.m. June 19 at DuSable Black History Museum, 740 E. 56th Place. Admission is free. Visit dusablemuseum.org.
- Musician Bill Brickey hosts a Juneteenth Celebration featuring Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young + de deacon board, musicians Mars Caulton, Lenny March, Michael Taylor and poet Alycia Kamil. At 7:30 p.m. June 16 at Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. Admission is free. Visit oldtownschool.org.
- M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ Juneteenth Celebration includes dance performances, DJ music, workshops, raffles, children’s activities, food and more. Among the performers are Move Me Soul, Creation Chicago Footwork, Broadway in Bronzeville and Sammy Dyer School of the Theatre. From 1-3 p.m. June 18 at Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. Admission is free. Visit maddrhythms.com.
- Refine Collective presents the Juneteenth Freedom Market featuring a diverse range of more than 50 local Black-owned businesses, live entertainment and more. From 5-9 p.m. June 16 at Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago. Admission: $13-$25. Visit facebook.com/refinecltv/.
Dance
- Ruth Page Civic Ballet and Friends includes performances of Kia Smith’s “Steady Going,” “Animated Frescos” (from Arthur Saint-Leon’s “The Little Humpbacked Horse”) and Adrian Marcelo Saenz’s “Abscission.” The Sunday performance features collaborations with Hedwig Dances, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Jumaane Taylor. At 7:30 p.m. June 15 and 2 p.m. June 17 at Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, 201 St. Johns, Highland Park. Tickets: $25. Visit ravinia.org.
- Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater performs Isaac Tovar’s “La Vida Breve,” “Desde Cai,” and “Andaluz,” Irene “La Chiqui” Lozano’s “Mediterraneo” and “Donde Todo Comienza” plus works from the company’s repertoire. At 7:30 p.m. June 16-17 and 3 p.m. June 18 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets: $25-$55. Visit northshorecenter.org
- Links Hall presents Rigo Saura’s “Kuba,” an exploration of his Cuban roots, and Destine Young’s “Systems & Sanctuaries,” a piece that grapples with the conditions of being a Black woman in this world. At 7 p.m. June 18 and 23 at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western. Tickets: $15-$40. Visit linkshall.org.
Music
- Nashville-based bluegrass artist Billy Strings puts his own take on the genre with high-energy performances that have tagged him “the future of bluegrass.” His most recent album, “Me/And/Dad,” is a collaboration with his father, Terry Barber, that features new versions of bluegrass and country classics. At 7:30 p.m. June 17 at Huntington Bank Pavilion, 1300 S. Linn White Dr. Tickets: $117+. Visit ticketsqueeze.com.
- Among the performers at Hyde Park Summer Fest are Lil Kim, Lola Brooke, 3 Snapz, Alex Isley, All Summa, Boolu Master, Dee Jay Alicia, DJ BG, DJ Cash Era, Duane Powell, Jay Illa, Kid Clay, Libianca and Mother Nature. From June 17-18 at Midway Plaisance Park, 1130 Midway Plaisance. Tickets: $89 per day, $149 festival pass. Visit hydeparksummerfest.com.
- Blues on the Fox Festival returns with a stellar lineup including Jimmie Vaughan, Kenny Neal, Ruthie Foster, Mud Morganfield, Joey J. Saye and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. From June 16-17 at RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway. Tickets: $25, $35. Visit riveredgeaurora.com.
- Redhead Piano Bar, a downtown mainstay, celebrates its 30th anniversary with an evening of piano music that has defined the last 30 years and performed by the venue’s pianists. From 4 p.m.-midnight June 21 at 16 W. Ontario. Visit redheadpianobar.com.
Movies
- The 20th annual African Diaspora International Film Festival presents 10 films that explore the Black and Indigenous experience. The opening night film, Edson Jean’s “Ludi,” follows a hardworking Haitian nurse in Miami who is desperate to send money back to her family. Other films shine a light on immigrant stories, new African cinema, blues musicians, films from Mali and civil rights activist Dorothy Foreman Cotton. From June 15-18 at Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton, and Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State. Tickets: $13-$20; festival pass $65. Visit nyadiff.org.
