Posted on May 6, 2021

On Wednesday, May 5, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Choose Chicago, and Chicago’s cultural community announced “Open Culture” — the next phase of Open Chicago, the Mayor’s latest initiative to safely and fully reopen the city.

City residents can expect many exciting summer events and cultural activities across Chicagoland — including Open Parks and Open Streets events announced last week, new Millennium Park and other DCASE programming summarized below, plus:

• The return of Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts at Symphony Center including “Fanfare” opening on May 27
• Hyde Park Art Center – Planting and Maintaining a Perennial Garden: Shrouds by Faheem Majeed open May 3 – July 24
• Rosa’s Lounge – Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band on May 7
• Pivot Arts Festival: Reimagining Utopia – A Performance Tour: Live, Multi- Arts Experience from May 21 – June 5
• Chicago Latino Theater Alliance – Sola en la pandemia está cañón at Joe’s on Weed Street on June 19
• The South Side Jazz Coalition – Jazzin’ On The Steps on May 23
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago – Tuesdays on the Terrace kicking off June 1
• Old Town Art Fair on June 12 & 13
• Art Institute of Chicago – The Obama Portraits from June 18 – August 15
• Pride in the Park on June 26 & 27
• Goodman Theatre – School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play reopening in August
• Court Theatre – Othello from July 8 – August 8
• Southport Art Fair on July 10 & 11
• Smart Museum of Art – Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40 on view July 15 – December 19
• Chinatown Summer Fair on July 17 & 18
• Jazz Institute of Chicago – Chicago Latin Jazz Festival on July 23 & 24
• Printers Row Lit Fest on September 11 & 12
• Hyde Park Jazz Festival on September 25 & 26
• Lyric Opera of Chicago 2021/22 season including opening night featuring an all-new production of Verdi’s Macbeth on September 17
• Broadway In Chicago – Six at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place running October 5, 2021 – January 30, 2022

For these and other upcoming events, including many more to be added throughout the spring and summer, visit ChooseChicago.com/events and Chicago.gov/DCASE for DCASE summer programming details including its artist lineups and ticketing (free advance registration), which will be available in the coming weeks.

DCASE is currently reviewing Special Events applications for outdoor festivals, street and art/craft fairs, and athletic events. Events must follow the State of Illinois Outdoor Markets and Festival Guidelines. Permit approval is conditional on improved public health metrics. All events must follow guidelines in place at the time of the event.

As the city reopens to with more in-person activities for the summer, we urge residents to continue to be safe, social distance, wear their masks, and get vaccinated. As of April 19, all Chicago residents over the age of 16 are eligible to be vaccinated and can schedule an appointment or learn more about the City’s vaccination efforts at chicago.gov/covid.