"Free, Free, Free!" is an e-newsletter and website that provides a monthly curated list of free programs, events and activities happening throughout the city in our libraries, museums, cultural centers and parks. We encourage you to express your culture through the arts and take advantage of the many opportunities the City of Chicago provides you to engage, create and participate!
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Year of Chicago Theatre
2019
Citywide
This citywide, year-long focus on theatre is the first of its kind in the U.S. The initiative will include theatre performances - including improv, dance, opera, puppetry and more - and special events for the public at hundreds of cultural venues, theaters, parks and neighborhood locations throughout the city.
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Chicago Air and Water Show
August 17-18, 10am-3pm Both Days
North Ave. Beach
The City of Chicago will welcome the ambassadors of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, to the
61st Annual Chicago Air and Water Show this August 17 and 18 along the lakefront from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach serving as show center from 10am to 3pm daily. Chicago will be the RAF Red Arrows' first stop in the United States on their 2019 tour of North America. Strong in tradition and one of the largest free admission events of its kind, the show headliners also include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights and the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs.
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Broadway In Chicago Summer Concert
Monday, August 12, 6:15-7:45pm
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St.
Mark your calendars! Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce their annual Free Broadway In Chicago Summer Concert, sponsored by ABC 7 Chicago and hosted by Janet Davies, ABC 7 Chicago's entertainment reporter and host of the entertainment and lifestyle program.
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Dance to China!
Sunday, August 18, 2-3pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall, 3rd Floor South, 78 E. Washington St.
Travel through China with Yin He Dance Company! Through dances from China's different regions and ethnic enclaves, audiences can see first-hand how dance transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries as a means of expression. Program includes cultural lessons and hands-on activities that are sure to thrill those both young and young-at-heart.
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Dame Myra Hess Concerts
Every Wednesday, 12:15-1pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall, 3rd Floor South, 78 E. Washington St.
Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts features solo and ensemble performances of classical music that showcase emerging performers. Held year round on Wednesdays at 12:15pm in Preston Bradley Hall.
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Shakespeare in the Parks at Dvorak
Thursday, August 1, 6:30-8pm
Dvorak (Anton) Park, 1119 W. Cullerton St.
Join us for one of our city's favorite summer traditions! Now in its eighth year, the Free For All Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour heads out for another incredible summer. This event is presented as a part of the City of Chicago's Year of Chicago Theatre.
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Sandbox Symphony IV
Saturday, August 10, 2-9pm
Oakwood Beach (41st Beach), 4100 South Lake Shore Dr.
Brother El's Sandbox Symphony IV is a beach art exhibition of live PA electronic music, visual arts, movement, food and nature. Giving praise to the Oakland/North Kenwood neighborhood's arts and culture by honoring the legacy of sculpture and art activist Milton Mizenburg with a memorial popup gallery. This free art exhibit at Oakwood Beach features the backdrop of the beautiful skyline, yoga, live music, live interactive art, a mini pop-up farmers market, a mobile toy creation cart, sand castles and local short films.
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85th Birthday Party for the Chicago Park District at Hermosa
Friday, August 16, 6:30-8pm
Hermosa Park, 2240 N. Kilbourn Ave.
As part of the
Chicago Park District's 85th birthday celebration events, join us for an evening of amazing fun in the park! The incredible youth of CircEsteem will amaze a circus performance! After the show, kids get to jump in the ring and try out some of the circus tricks themselves.
Additional party activities will range from party games to arts & crafts, and dancing to our D.J. spinning music, plus sampling treats from Cola-Cola, Hudsonville Ice Cream, and Vienna Beef. Yummy! (while supplies last)
Plan on staying for the Movie in the Park following the 85th birthday celebration. Featured Movie: Aquaman
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Chicago Karaoke Festival Tour at South Shore
Monday, August 26, 4-8pm
South Shore Cultural Center/Fieldhouse, 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
The People's Stage Karaoke is excited to follow up on last year's first Chicago Karaoke Festival by launching a series of outdoor community karaoke dance parties throughout Chicago's diverse neighborhood parks. We start at the South Shore Cultural Center, then Horner Park, then Ping Tom Park and conclude the series with the 2nd Chicago Karaoke festival itself at Humboldt Park. We believe in the power of karaoke to shine a unifying spotlight on our cultural diversity through song and dance. All ages, languages welcome.
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Scan and 3D Print Yourself
Monday, August 5, 1:30-3:30pm or 6-8pm
Harold Washington Library Center, Maker Lab, 3rd Floor, 400 S. State St.
Get scanned with an infrared camera and learn how to turn your scan into the perfect bust. Prepare it for the 3D printer and take home a mini-you.
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Second Saturday Jazz
Saturday, August 10, 12-2pm
Whitney M. Young Jr. Branch, 415 E. 79th St.
Under the mentorship and direction of Charles Heath the next generation of great musicians from across the city compete for the Ken Chaney Scholarship by playing classic jazz.
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Garden Days
Friday, August 16, 9:30-11:30am
Jeffery Manor Branch, 2401 E. 100th St.
Do you have a green thumb or maybe you'd like to learn how to grow your own vegetables. Stop by the Jeffery Manor Community Garden this summer on Garden Days to learn how easy it can be to start planting.
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Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Thursdays are suggested donation days for Illinois residents
2430 N. Cannon Dr.
Do you ever wonder how a butterfly gets its colors? Or how turtles hibernate? Do you wonder how birds know where to migrate each year? For over 160 years, the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has served a unique role in the city of Chicago connecting children of all ages to nature and science through immersive exhibits, fun family events, important conservation research and in-depth education programs, inspiring the wonder in all of us.
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Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Free Admission, August 4 - Birthday of the United States Coast Guard
104 S. Michigan Ave., 2nd Floor
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2013, and its specialist collections include material relating to Winston Churchill and war-related sheet music.
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