Summertime has arrived in Chicago, the beaches are open and it's time to start making all of your out-of-town friends jealous. We've put together a list of the best June events so you can quit fretting over making weekend plans and relax with a cocktail on a patio. Spend a weekend at a summer festival, take a walk down The 606 or go eat at a brand new restaurant with the help of our guide to the most exciting things opening in Chicago in June.
THINGS TO DO
Jun 6: Take a stroll through Chicago's newest park during The 606 Opening Weekend, featuring two days of celebratory events centered around the elevated path.
Jun 7: Get caked in brightly colored powder while sprinting through Grant Park at the Color Run.
Jun 13: During the annual World Naked Bike Ride, local cyclists strip down and take to the city's streets to raise awareness about bicycle safety and positive body image.
Jun 21: Show your dad how much you appreciate him with our guide to Father's Day meals and gifts.
Jun 24: Check out an extensive collection of Chinese artifacts when the Field Museum opens its latest permanent exhibition, the Cyrus Tang Hall of China.
Jun 27: Teams paddle ornate Chinese boats across the Chicago River as fast as they can at the Dragon Boat Race for Literacy.
Jun 27, 28: Get a head start on your craft shopping when the Renegade Craft Fair Pop-Up sets up shop at the Hideout.
Jun 28: Wave your rainbow flag and celebrate with the city's LGBT community at the relentlessly festive Chicago Pride Parade.
FESTIVALS
Jun 6: See contortionists, trapeze artists and live music while drinking locally brewed beer at the Lagunitas Beer Circus.
Jun 6, 7: The city's historic former bookmaking hub hosts the Midwest's biggest free outdoor ode to literature during Printers Row Lit Fest.
Jun 6, 7: Remix Chicago brings local music, eco-friendly workshops, recycled crafts and sustainable food options to Logan Square.
Jun 12–14: Get covered in sauce at Ribfest Chicago, where 50,000 pounds of pork will be smoked, slathered and served.
Jun 12–14: At Andersonville Midsommarfest, the Swedish celebration is an inclusive one, offering activities and food for kids, families and members of the LGBT community.
Jun 13: Local brews are the focus of this year's Neighbors of West Loop Craft Beer Festival, which welcomes 40 breweries as well as a selection of French Market vendors.
Jun 18–21: Fiestas Puertorriqueñas throws a giant Puerto Rican–themed party in Humboldt Park, culminating in the Puerto Rican People's Parade.
Jun 19, 20: Sample a selection of 200 beers while gazing at Buckingham Fountain at the Chicago Ale Festival.
Jun 19–21: Best Coast, Dinosaur Jr., Tennis and more rock out on Chicago's Restaurant Row during Taste of Randolph.
Jun 20, 21: The city's Pride Week festivities kick off at Chicago Pride Fest, which features local vendors, food and a fabulous pet parade.
Jun 26–28: Logan Square Arts Festival (formerly Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival) heads back to the foot of the Centennial Monument, offering up local art, food, music and booze.
Jun 27: This year, Old St. Pat's World's Largest Block Party pares down to a single day, welcoming food trucks as well as musical guests Young the Giant and Neon Trees.
RESTAURANTS
Jun 1–7: Celebrate Negroni Week by drinking variations on the classic drink at bars all over the city.
Jun 6, 7: Chow down on grub from more than 25 trucks outside of Thalia Hall at the very first Pilsen Food Truck Social.
Jun 9: The General, a Civil War–themed restaurant, liquor store and grocery store, comes to Logan Square.
Jun 26: Streeterville Social, the Loews Hotel's massive new rooftop bar, features two bars and outdoor games.
Jun 27, 28: Doug Sohn comes out of retirement (again!) to serve Hot Doug's sausages and duck-fat fries at Dog Dayz of Summer.
Jun TBD: The ramen craze shows no signs of slowing down as Los Angeles’s Jinya Ramen joins the fray in Lincoln Park.
Jun TBD: Enjoy local brews and freshly butchered meats in Logan Square at Son of a Butcher Tavern.
Note: Restaurant openings are subject to change and can be delayed; call ahead before setting out.
MOVIES
Jun 5: Vince and his gang are back in business with Ari in the Entourage movie, which (much like those Sex and the City films) is just a few years too late.
Jun 12: America's new favorite leading man Chris Pratt battles genetically modified dinosaurs in Jurassic World.
Jun 19: Pixar steels itself for a barrage of sequels with an original property, Inside Out, which explores the inner workings of a child's mind.
COMEDY
Jun 5, 6: Daily Show correspondent Al Madrigal and Undateable cast member Ron Funches headline Second City's Break Out Comedy Festival.
Jun 6: Podcaster, TV star and lovable curmudgeon Marc Maron hits the Vic on his Maronation Tour.
Jun 18: Comedy superproducer and director Judd Apatow talks about his new book, Sick in the Head, as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival's spring slate.
Jun 18: Breakout comedian Amy Schumer brings Dave Attell, Vanessa Bayer, Mike Birbiglia and Colin Quinn to town for an evening of laughs as part of her Trainwreck Comedy Tour.
Jun 25: Relatable Texan standup Cristela Alonzo (whom you may know from the ABC sitcom that bears her name) comes to Zanies to show off her chops onstage.
ART
Jun 5–Jul 26: "Art Paul: Hard Heads, Sweet Knees, Forked Tongues" explores the post-retirement work of the founding Playboy magazine art director.
Jun 6–Oct 11: See photos and videos from two extremely remote locales in Canada and Russia in the Art Institute's new exhibition, "David Hartt: Intervals."
Jun 20–Sept 27: "Linked Visions" gathers the collaborative work of artists James McNeill Whistler and Theodore Roussel.
THEATER
Jun 2–7: Tony-winning musical Once, based on the equally gentle Irish indie film about a pair of Dublin folk musicians' whirlwind not-quite-romance, makes a brief return stop.
Jun 2–Jul 5: Chicago gets a first look at On Your Feet!, a new Broadway-bound musical "based on the life and music of" pop star Gloria Estefan and her producer husband, Emilio Estefan.
Jun 5–Jul 5: A gay teen sets out to prove that the 16th President shared his orientation in the time-jumping comedy Abraham Lincoln Was a F*gg*t.
Jun 6–Jul 19: Conor McPherson's The Birds is inspired by the same Daphne DuMaurier story of winged attackers as Alfred Hitchcock's film.
Jun 20–Jul 26: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durang's Tony Award–winning comic riff on Chekhov gets an overdue Chicago premiere.
Jun 20–Aug 9: The Den Theatre remounts All Our Tragic, adapting all 32 surviving Greek tragedies into an eight-act, 12-hour, often surprisingly funny and totally singular experience.
DANCE
Jun 11–14: Hubbard Street Dance stages its annual Summer Series at the Harris Theater, presenting a program of work by resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo.
Jun 18–21: The Royal Ballet returns to Chicago after nearly 37 years to present its vibrant production of Don Quixote at the Auditorium Theatre.
MUSIC
Jun 1–Jul 23: The city's free Downtown Sound concert series kicks off with San Fermin and Sō Percussion at Pritzker Pavilion.
Jun 4, 5: Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Will Butler pops back to Chicago to promote his new-wave solo record, Policy.
Jun 8: The glitchy, dubby and atmospheric boy-girl duo Purity Ring shows off its fancy light-up drum set at the Riv.
Jun 9–11: Didn't snag Grateful Dead tickets? The epic, kinda weird Americana rock of My Morning Jacket should fill the jamming void in your summer concert lineup.
Jun 10: Contemporary bluesman Hozier hits Millennium Park just before Blues Fest to play from his 2014 release, From Eden.
Jun 11–13: Veteran post-punk band Wire presents Drill: Chicago, a three-day art-rock festival featuring St. Vincent, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Tim Hecker.
Jun 12–14: Join a sea of neon tank tops and get down to bass-heavy sets from Zedd, Hardwell, Tiësto and Jack Ü at Solider Field EDM orgy, Spring Awakening.
Jun 12–14: Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal Trio and a tribute to Willie Dixon Muddy Waters are on tap at the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park.
Jun 15: Baltimore art-rockers Lower Dens debut a new batch of dreamy, krautrock-inspired tunes at the Empty Bottle.
Jun 17: Ditching banjos and suspenders for Fender guitars and leather jackets, Mumford & Sons will be rocking (and stomping) on Montrose Beach.
Jun 19–21: It's a country hoedown on Northerly Island, as Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and Florida Georgia Line headline the inaugural LakeShake Festival.
Jun 20, 21: The eco-friendly Green Music Fest brings a bike-powered stage and artists like Shovels & Rope and Mikael Cronin to Wicker Park.
Jun 24, 25, 28, 29, Jul 2: Injury-prone legends U2 come back to the United Center for five nights of epic arena rock. Don't let Bono ride a Divvy.
Jun 26, 27: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga croon jazz-standards for Ravinia picnickers behind their collaborative Cheek to Cheek LP.
Jun 27: Prolific garage rocker Ty Segall returns to the Empty Bottle for an acoustic set.