Fourth of July
Parades and the Fourth of July go together like peanut butter and jelly, an American classic! Click "learn more" to see all the parades and Fourth of July community events happening in Chicago's western suburbs.
Location: Oak Park, Brookfield, La Grange, North Riverside, Riverside, Westchester
Oak Park Festival Theatre Presents "Twelfth Night"
Enjoy the classic Shakespeare comedy "Twelfth Night" as performed by Oak Park Festival Theatre under the stars in the beautiful Austin Gardens.
Location: Oak Park
Riverside Regatta
Celebrate Riverside's 150th anniversary with the 9th annual Riverside Regatta. Paddle along the Des Plaines River or spectate from nearby bridges. It's a beautiful way to get outside and enjoy community and nature.
Location: Riverside
Brookfield Zoo Chicago's Bramsen Tropical Forests Opening Day
Spanning nearly three acres, Bramsen Tropical Forests is one of the largest primate habitats in any accredited U.S. zoo, emulating the natural homes of gorillas, orangutans and monkeys. Featuring four dynamic habitats and micro-climates modeled after Africa, Asia and South America, Bramsen Tropical Forests is designed with the latest advancements in primate care and welfare to meet the unique needs of Brookfield Zoo Chicago's primates.
Location: Brookfield
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Franklin Park Street Dance
You don’t want to miss this unforgettable annual summer event! Live music, local food vendors, children’s activities and more will fill Franklin Avenue. Come out and enjoy a fun-filled summer night with your family, friends and neighbors.
Location: Franklin Park
In Ernie's Footsteps: A Walking Tour of Young Hemingway's Oak Park
Enjoy this 90-minute outdoor tour exploring Ernest Hemingway’s connections to Oak Park, visiting such sites as Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum, the author's boyhood home, Oak Park & River Forest High School, Oak Park Public Library, Congregational Church and the WWI memorial in Scoville Park.
Location: Oak Park
Movies in the Park
Join the Park District of Forest Park for the ultimate cinema experience under the stars. Watch the hilarious and family-friendly "Monsters University." Don't forget your picnic blanket!
Location: Forest Park
Reptile Road Show
Crosstown Exotics returns to North Riverside Park Mall with their crew of prehistoric amphibians and reptiles for an up-close encounter with all kinds animals that have survived since the dinosaur ages.
Everyone gets to interact with the animals for an entertaining, educational event.
Location: North Riverside
La Grange Craft Fair
The 51st Annual La Grange Craft Fair features over 200 booths of crafts in lovely downtown La Grange. This long-running show is a crowd favorite, offering a broad range of wares, from original paintings and yard art to handmade clothing, jewelry, soaps and accessories.
Location: La Grange
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La Grange Touch-a-Truck
Join us the Park District of La Grange for a hands-on adventure at its Touch-a-Truck event! Kids and families can explore a variety of vehicles, honk horns and meet the heroes who operate them —all while embracing the benefits of unplugging from screens and enjoying outdoor fun! Please note that this will be sensory friendly from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Location: La Grange
Ridgeland Ramble Sidewalk Tour
Stroll with Oak Park and River Forest Museum guides on this walking tour of Lake Street and surrounding blocks and learn about the history, buildings, activities, and people of this east side neighborhood.
Location: Oak Park
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"Groovin' in the Garden" Garden Walk
Join the Historical Society of Forest Park for our Annual Garden Walk July 12 and help celebrate the society's 50th anniversary in style— 1975 style, the year the society started.
With its "Groovin’ in the Garden" theme, enjoy live musicians performing in select gardens. Stroll through Forest Park’s most beautiful outdoor spaces while enjoying music, history, and summer vibes.
Location: Forest Park
Franklin Park Park Party
Spend an evening with friends and the Park District of Franklin Park enjoying free food and fun with the family! These casual gatherings are part of a six-year park tour where park district officials visit every park in the district and they can’t wait to see you this summer!
Location: Franklin Park
Oak Park Sidewalk Sales
Shop locally in Oak Park and snag great finds during sidewalk sales across three Oak Park districts: Downtown Oak Park, Hemingway District and Oak Park Arts District. The Arts District's sale is July 19, while Downtown Oak Park's lasts from July 17 through July 20.
Location: Oak Park
Hemingway's Readings: In Our Time
Take a casual stroll through Oak Park's Hemingway District as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of a strikingly original collection of short stories and accompanying vignettes marking Ernest Hemingway's American debut in 1925, called "In Our Time." Read and reflect upon this classic story collection and join the district for refreshments and engaging discussions at various location.
Location: Oak Park
Kids "Running of the Bulls" Parade
The Hemingway Foundation in collaboration with the Hemingway Business District and the Collaboration for Early Childhood (CEC) is hosting a kids running of the bulls event, where children (3+) can decorate their own bull and parade them around Scoville Park.
Location: Oak Park
Hemingway Birthday Lecture
Celebrate Ernest Hemingway's birthday and the 100th anniversary of the publishing of his "In Our Time" short story collection with a lecture by Professor J. Gerald Kennedy, the editor of the Norton Critical Edition of "In Our Time."
Location: Oak Park
Hemingway Birthday Porch Concert
Celebrate Ernest Hemingway's 125th birthday with a concert on the porch of the home he was born in featuring local musical talents Local Memory and Lydia Cash. Don't forget your lawn chairs! This event is rain or shine.
Location: Oak Park
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Chicago Grit: Cycle Brookfield Criterium
Professional bike racing returns to Brookfield for the third year in a row! You won't want to miss the speed, the energy and the party in Brookfield this summer! Join the fun at the Cycle Brookfield Criterium on July 23 and participate in the family fun run between professional races.
Location: Brookfield
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Uncorked
Celebrate summertime with an enjoyable evening of music and drinks at the Oak Park Conservatory's Rubinstein Garden.
Location: Oak Park
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No Gloves Nationals 16-inch Softball Tournament
You won't want to miss this beloved annual 16-inch softball tournament in Forest Park! Watch teams vie for the championship playing this uniquely Chicago sport.
Location: Forest Park
Succulent and Cacti Sale
Shop from a large assortment of specialty succulents and cacti locally grown at the Oak Park Conservatory and learn from experts on hand how to handle these easy-to-grow plants.
Location: Oak Park
"West Side Stories" Sidewalk Tour
Take a stroll through scenic, historic River Forest and see firsthand why the streets of Edgewood Place and Thatcher Avenue are a living outdoor museum of architecture and history and learn about the notable figures that lived on them.
Location: River Forest
Vintage Baseball Game
Bring the whole family to Riverside's Big Ball Park for an exciting afternoon of vintage baseball! This free event will transport you back in time to when baseball was played in Frederick Law Olmsted’s era. Expect old-fashioned uniforms, wooden bats, unique rules and a special song during the seventh inning stretch.
Location: Riverside
Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside Walking Tour
Explore Riverside's flowing landscape, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s first and most famous landscape architect; its more than 150 years of rich architectural history, with homes by famous architects Frank Lloyd Wright, William LeBaron Jenney and Howard Van Doren Shaw; and its fascinating, sometimes notorious, residents down through the years on this walking tour!
Location: Riverside
Roaring Nights: Third Eye Blind
Get ready to turn up the volume for unforgettable nights of live music, dancing and good vibes featuring live music from Third Eye Blind, the 1990s hit machine that has recorded 10 best-selling studio recordings, two live releases and assembled one career retrospective selling 12 million records worldwide.
Location: Brookfield
Chalk the Park
Get ready to unleash your creativity at Chalk the Park, a new art event in Franklin Park! Decorate sidewalks, paths and open spaces with vibrant chalk art. The artist that best captures the theme will win a prize.
Location: Franklin Park