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"FALL" IN LOVE WITH CHICAGO THIS AUTUMN SEASON!
Highlights of Activities and Events Held in
Chicago from September - November, 2008
The autumn season is the perfect time to explore Chicago. With special
events on the lakefront, long-awaited museum exhibitions, and an
entire month dedicated to showcasing the city's visual artists, the
autumn season is the perfect time to explore Chicago. There is always
something to do in Chicago!
Visitors to the city are invited to make their first stop the Visitor
Information Center in the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 78 East
Washington Street.
For more information on visiting Chicago this fall, visit
www.cityofchicago.org/tourism or call 877-CHICAGO.
Special Events
September 1-25, Chicago is home to artist Kurt Perschke's RedBall
Project, a mobile sculptural performance that functions as a
series of daily installations over a period of one month. The
site-specific installations of the 15-foot inflatable sphere will be
boldly present and smoothly transient, moving between chosen locations
and engaging people on the Chicago streets and near landmark
buildings, including the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park and
others. As public art that migrates, RedBall is unique in each city.
www.redballproject.com
Chicago showcases the best of today's international music at the
10th Annual World Music Festival: Chicago 2008, Friday, September
19 through Thursday, September 25, 2008. The 2008 festival line-up
features more than 70 events at 21 venues. Many events are family
friendly and 38 events are admission free. Events include 6 live radio
broadcasts and a mix of free and ticketed concerts presented in
museums, parks, cultural centers, plazas, theaters, clubs and other
venues throughout Chicago. The 2008 festival features more than 65
artists representing 39 countries.
www.cityofchicago.org/worldmusic
Chicago Artists Month (CAM), organized by the Chicago
Department of Cultural Affairs, returns this October for its
thirteenth year. The month-long event presents unique opportunities
for the public to view artists at work and explore Chicago's vibrant
visual arts community. From exhibitions to neighborhood art walks,
open studio tours, and more, everyone is invited to events at over 200
galleries, museums, cultural centers, and arts buildings in over 40
Chicago neighborhoods throughout the city. This year's theme is
Artists and Issues that Matter. Anticipating the November
election, CAM explores issues of interest and concern to artists and
the art community, including political, environmental, moral, social,
global, or personal issues.
www.chicagoartistsmonth.com
Don't miss Fashion Focus Chicago, a weeklong celebration of
Chicago's thriving fashion industry! Running from Wednesday, October 1
through Wednesday, October 8 Fashion Focus Chicago showcases some of
the city's top designers, and features five runway shows in Millennium
Park, fashion installations, shopping events, student designer events,
and industry seminars.
www.chicagofashionresource.com
The Chicago Country Music Festival, a weekend full of music and
dancing, begins Saturday, October 11 and runs through Sunday, October
12, 2008. The Chicago Country Music Festival, once a part of the Taste
of Chicago, celebrates its 18th year with a new festival area at the
Soldier Field parkland with concerts featuring headliners Gretchen
Wilson and Taylor Swift, plus Luke Brian, Lady Antebellum and
Heartsfield. In addition, there will be three performance stages and a
dance tent. Activities include square dancing and karaoke. There are
also many things to do for kids of all ages at the new "Kid Corral"
located on the east side of Soldier Field.
www.chicagocountrymusicfestival.us
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is the pinnacle of
achievement for elite athletes and everyday runners alike. On Sunday,
October 12, 2008 runners from all 50 states and over 100 countries
will set out to accomplish a personal dream. The Bank of America
Chicago Marathon is known globally for its fast, flat course. Elite
athletes and amateurs alike annually target the race for its potential
to generate personal, national and world records. In addition to its
speed, the course offers a scenic tour of Chicago as it weaves through
29 diverse neighborhoods and dozens of local and historic landmarks.
Runners are guaranteed to see all that is great about the city of
Chicago.
www.chicagomarathon.com
This Halloween, downtown Chicago's Daley Plaza will be re-vamped into
Franken Plaza. From October 17-31, kids and adults can take
part in pumpkin decorating, spooky storytellers, new scary movie
nights and performances to amaze and thrill audiences from Midnight
Circus, Spunn and Pyrotecniq. Plus, kids can join the fun by marching
in costume as part of The State Street Halloween Happening Parade
on Saturday, October 25.
www.chicagoween.us
Upcoming Museum Exhibitions
Through October 1, visit the DuSable Museum of African American
History to discover Forgotten Roots: Muslims in Early America
Through the 20th Century. This exhibition examines the history of
America through her Islamic lens. The first of its kind to do so, this
exhibition highlights America's rich Islamic history by connecting
Muslims to early America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
www.dusablemuseum.org
To celebrate the centenary of the birth of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the
Art Institute will present, for the first time, a comparison of
Cartier-Bresson's photographs to the modern drawings, etchings, and
paintings of his contemporaries. Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art
and Photography of Paris opens on September 20, 2008 and will run
through January 4, 2009. www.artic.edu
From October 26, 2008 through April 19, 2009, visitors can explore the
grandeur and complexity of one of the world's great civilizations at
the Field Museum of Natural History. Within the span of 200 years, the
Aztecs went from a nomadic group to one of the most powerful and
influential societies ever, leaving behind a legacy that lives on
today. Trace the remarkable rise and fall of The Aztec World
exclusively at The Field Museum.
www.fieldmuseum.org
Theatrical Highlights
Dirty Dancing, the worldwide musical smash is having its
pre-Broadway US premiere in Chicago! The movie is an entertainment
phenomenon with an unforgettable soundtrack. Re-imagined for the stage
by the original screenwriter, Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On
Stage, explodes with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion
and sensationally sexy dancing. Step inside the classic story of Baby
and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different
worlds, who come together in what will be the most challenging and
triumphant summer of their lives told by a tremendous cast of 39 and
featuring 35 hit songs, including "Hungry Eyes", "Hey Baby", "Do You
Love Me?" and the heart-stopping "I've Had The Time of My Life".
Begins September 28.
www.broadwayinchicago.com
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, winner of 5 2008 Tony Awards,
opens its 2008-2009 season with a world premiere production of
Kafka on the Shore, adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble
member Frank Galati. In the production, a young boy's coming of age
parallels an old man's search for destiny in modern-day Japan where
the borders between everyday reality, dreams and imagination are
constantly crossed. In this fantastical tale about waking up to your
own life, audiences will encounter talking cats on the streets of
Tokyo, World War II soldiers trapped in time, Colonel Sanders and
Johnnie Walker. Runs September 18 - November 16, 2008.
www.steppenwolf.org
Recipient of the 2008 Regional Theater Tony Award, Chicago
Shakespeare Theater opens its 2008-2009 season with Peter
Shaffer's Amadeus, the award-winning drama based on the music
and intertwining lives of the brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
his jealous rival, Court Composer Antonio Salieri. Amadeus is followed
by The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of
England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer, by
Shakespeare's brilliant contemporary and rival playwright Christopher
Marlowe. This production is the first work by Marlowe to be performed
by Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Amadeus runs September 6 -
November 9. Edward II runs from October 1 - November 9.
www.chicagoshakes.com
High art meets low when the Storefront Theater presents Blair
Thomas and Company. Cabaret of Desire gives voice to 20th
century poet Federico Garcia Lorca through a cabaret of puppets,
amoral ruffians, and original music for an evening of highly unique
theater. The adult-themed production presents a comedy of failures
chronicling one man's pursuit of love and affection. What unfolds is a
surreal world where one man's fantasy collides with its own end. Runs
from October 9 - November 8.
www.dcatheater.org
Visitors and Chicagoans planning to entertain out-of-town guests can
receive Chicago brochures, reserve hotel accommodations and receive
trip-planning assistance by calling toll-free 1.877.CHICAGO
(1.877.244.2246), or visiting
www.cityofchicago.org/tourism. Brochures and information on
Chicago's exciting events and activities are also available at the
Visitor Information Centers. The centers are located at Chicago Water
Works, 163 East Pearson Street at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago
Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street. For those calling from
outside the United States, Mexico and Canada, please call
1-312-201-8847. The TTY toll-free number for the hearing impaired is
1.866.710.0294. |
