Can’t Miss Summertime Chi Events 2018

July 2, 2018

updated July 11, 2018

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to experience Chicago in the summertime, you know it’s a truly unforgettable experience. The winter is long, so we really know how to apprecite the good weather. Whether you live in the Chi or you'll be visiting sometime this summer, here's a list of events celebrating Blackness that you'll want add to your calendar!

26th Annual African/Caribbean International Festival of Life

July 6 - 8, 2018
Union Park, 1501 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60606
General Admission: $25, 3-Day $75 (tickets must be purchased at the gate)

28th Annual Chosen Few Picnic & Festival

July 7, 2018
Jackson Park 63rd Street at Hayes Drive, Chicago, IL, 60637
General Admission: $30

Taste of Chicago: Black Star (Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli)

July 13, 2018, 5:30pm
Grant Park, 337 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
Lawn seating FREE, seated tickets start at $18

DuSable Museum 41st Annual Arts and Crafts Fair

July 14 - 15, 2018
DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E 56th Pl, Chicago, IL 60637
Admission: FREE

Soulful Chicago Book Fair

July 15, 2018, 10am - 8pm
61st Street, between Cottage Grove & King Drive
Admission: FREE

Taste of Chicago: George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, BJ the Chicago Kid

July 15, 2018, 4:30pm
Grant Park, 337 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
Lawn seating FREE, seated tickets start at $18

Bronzeville Art District Trolly Tours 2018

3rd Friday of each month: July 20, August 17, September 21, 6pm
Featured Stops:
- Gallery Guichard and the Great Migration Sculpture Garden
- Bronzeville Artists Lofts
- Faie Afrikan Art
- Little Black Pearl and Carver47
- Blanc Chicago Art Gallery
- South Side Community Art Center
Admission: FREE

15th Annual Silver Room Block Party

July 21, 2018, noon - 10pm
Harper Court, 1506 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615
Admission: FREE

Block Party Film Festival

July 21, 2018, noon - 10pm
SCHEDULE:
- 12pm: Carmen Jones (Otto Preminger, 1954)
- 2pm: Mahogany (Berry Gordy, 1975)
- 4pm: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991)
- 6pm: Rock Rubber 45s (Bobbito Garcia, 2018) with director Bobbito Garcia and Cinema 53 curator Jacqueline Stewart
- 8pm: Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973)
Harper Theatre, 5238 S Harper Ave, Chicago, IL 60615
Admission: FREE

Special Olympics 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert with Chance the Rapper, Usher, Smokey Robinson + More

Jul 21, 2018
Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S Lynn White Dr, Chicago, IL 60605
Tickets start at $37

Pitchfork Music Festival

Day 3: Sunday July 22, 2018
Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan, DRAM, Noname + more
Union Park, 1501 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60606
Single Day Ticket: $75, 3-Day Ticket: $175

Millennium Park Summer Film Series: Get Out

July 24, 2018, 6:30pm
Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60602
Admission: FREE
bring your blanket, chairs and snacks!

Bantu Fest 2018

July 28, 2018
Midway Plaisance, 1130 Midway Plaissance (Near 60th & Ellis), Chicago, IL 60637
Admission: FREE

24th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival

August 4 – 30, 2018
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State Street, Chicago, IL 60601
tickets and festival passes available at the Gene Siskel Film Center box office starting July 20th

89th Annual Bud Billiken Parade

August 11, 2018, Parade: 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM, Festival: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Parade Route: South on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, starting from Oakwood Boulevard to 51st Street, Continuing on Elsworth Drive (in Washington Park) from 51st Street to Garfield Boulevard (55th St.), Ending on Garfield Boulevard (55th St.) and Elsworth Drive
Admission: FREE

2nd Annual Taste of Black Chicago

August 18, 2018
7351 S. Stony Island Ave, Chicago, IL 60649
Admission: FREE

DuSable Museum Movies In The Park: Black Panther

August 18th, 2018, 7:30 PM
DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E 56th Pl, Chicago, IL 60637
Admission: FREE

40th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival

August 30 - September 2, 2018
Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60602
Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
Admission: FREE

African Festival of the Arts

August 31 - September 3, 2018
Washington Park, 5100 S. Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60615
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the gate

Celebrate Juneteenth with Goodman Theatre's 'Father Comes Home From the Wars' (Parts 1, 2 & 3)

June 19, 2018

On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in the state of Texas were finally freed, two and half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect in other parts of the country. On this day, known as Juneteenth, African American communities across the nation celebrate the freedom of our people. If you're lucky enough to be in Chicago, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Juneteenth than by going to see “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)” in its final week at the Goodman Theatre.

*Bart Schultz interviews Timuel Black at Rockefeller Chapel. (photo by Leah Castleberry)*

Black Chicago Historian & Activist Timuel Black Remembers Dr. King on the 50th Anniversary of His Assassination

April 6, 2018

On April 4, 2018, fifty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., countless commemorative events took place throughout the country and the world, remembering the great man and the work he dedicated his life to. In Chicago, Professor Timuel D. Black sat with Bart Schultz (executive director of the Civic Knowledge Project) at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago to discuss Dr. King's legacy, his time in Chicago, and how they became friends.

Third Annual Chicago Black Restaurant Week to Run February 11-18, 2018

February 10, 2018

The title "Chicagoan" is worn as a badge of honor in our city and is practically synonymous with “foodie.” We take this food thing quite seriously, so it’s no surprise that most of us mark our calendars for Chicago Restaurant Week every year, but did you know that there is also a Chicago Black Restaurant Week? The third annual Chicago Black Restaurant Week will run from February 11 - 18, 2018, featuring Black-owned eateries and restaurants around the Chicagoland area.

Beyond 'A Raisin in the Sun': New Documentary Sheds Light on Playwright's History of Activism

January 18, 2018

On January 11th the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago hosted an advance screening of the new documentary Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, sponsored by WTTW, the DuSable Museum, and the Goodman Theatre.

August Wilson's 'Jitney' Now Playing at the Congo Square Theatre

January 16, 2018

August Wilson (1945-2005), two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Fences and The Piano Lesson), is one of the most prolific playwrights of the last century, documenting the Black experience—one that is authentically and uniquely American—through theatre.

Black Productions to Support During Chicago Theatre Week 2018

January 15, 2018

Each February, Chicago Theatre Week offers over 100 Chicago theatre productions at discounted prices. This year, Chicago Theatre Week 2018 runs from February 8-18, 2018.

Of the more than 120 productions showing during Chicago Theatre Week this year, only eight either have Black playwrights, directors and/or majority Black casts. (Let's hope that next year there will be more!)

Click on the links below to learn more about Theatre Week performance dates and ticket pricing for each show. There are a limited number of discounted tickets for each show and are sure to sell out—tickets are on sale now!