The best things to do in Chicago this week

The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art (better known as EXPO Chicago) returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall from Thursday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26, hosting more than 170 of the world's prominent contemporary galleries from 36 countries, including an exciting new partnership with the Galleries Association of Korea. You’ll see towering installations, sprawling canvases, intriguing sculptures and more cutting-edge art at this annual gathering, which features work by artists from around the globe. EXPO Chicago also presents conversations with artists, on-site installations, public art initiatives and more ways to immerse yourself in the creative spirit of the event.

In its 14th year, One Earth Film Festival offers a slate of environmental films aimed at understanding climate change, sustainability and the power of human involvement from April 22 to April 28, for the celebration of Earth Week. Screenings cover topics including water justice, public housing, deforestation, more. The fest unfolds with a diverse lineup of films, interactive panels, and community-driven events at 20-plus locations across the greater Chicago area.

Catch the inaugural edition of this concert series beneath the spectacular Preston Bradley Hall Tiffany dome at the Chicago Cultural Center, where R&B crooner KAINA and rapper Mick Jenkins will take to the stage for free performances. RSVPs (available via the Cultural Center's website) are requested but not required, but plan to show up early for your best chance of nabbing a seat, as space may be limited. 

She's beauty and she's grace, she's Miss United States! And you can be, too, at this Miss Congeniality-themed bar crawl, held on — when else? — April 25th, the perfect date when it's not too hot, not too cold and all you need is a light jacket. Break out your pageant best (or, you know, an entire Statue of Liberty costume) and get ready for registration and a meet-and-greet at The North End at 7pm, followed by prelims at Replay at 8pm and the finals (including that big dance number) at Sidetrack at 9pm. There will also be a talent and question-and-answer portion of the evening, along with the crowning of this year's Miss Congeniality!

Displaying a 25-story-tall video installation on the side of THE MART, ART on THE MART is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, with programming that changes seasonally. ART on THE MART's array of 34 digital projectors show the creations after dusk every evening. Running Thursdays through Saturdays beginning at 8:30pm, it’s best viewed from the section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells Street and Franklin Street.

Doc10, Chicago's only all-documentary film festival, returns to the Davis Theater and Gene Siskel Film Center for its big 10th anniversary. From Friday, April 25 through Sunday, May 4, the festival will screen 10 current documentaries culled from other top festivals around the globe (Sundance, Tribeca), including Elegance Bratton's fiery music feature Move Ya Body: The Birth of House — which will open the 2025 series— and the Closing Night selection Prime Minister from filmmakers Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz, centered on New Zealand Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern.

Goonies never say die! And indeed, the beloved 1985 adventure comedy The Goonies — about a plucky pack of kids who discover an old pirate map and journey into an underground cavern in search of lost treasure — has endured for four decades. And to celebrate the big 40th anniversary, the Auditorium Theatre will host the Chicago Philharmonic on Saturday, April 26 as they perform Dave Grusin's entire iconic score live during a special screening of the throwback favorite. Get ready for a night of soaring tunes, booby traps, treasure hunts and, of course, Baby Ruth candy bars!

In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, more than 50 independent bookstores in the greater Chicago area — including About Time Bookstore, Bookends & Beginnings, Dandelion Bookshop, Exile in Bookville, Harvey's Tales, Pilsen Community Books, The Understudy and more — will come together to host a bookstore crawl on Saturday, April 26.

Upon visiting a store, customers will receive a passport and/or a stamp. Those who collect 10 stamps during the day will receive 10% off participating shops for an entire year. If you manage to visit 15 shops, you’ll receive 15% off for a year. After visiting 10 or 15 participating bookstores, you can show your passport at your final bookstore of the day and receive a limited edition sticker to commemorate the lit-loving event. Start making that reading list!

The international MUBI Fest is back in Chicago on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, with a weekend-long celebration of cinema featuring a curated selection of films as well as  Q&As, workshops, installations, and live music—all taking place at Music Box Theatre and The Salt Shed. Among this year’s big-screen lineup is a special screening and Q&A of Alex Ross Perry’s Pavements—a faux documentary about the real band of the same name—as well as Amalia Ulman’s Magic Farm, Brian De Palma’s Blow Out, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice and Elaine May’s Ishtar. On Sunday, an open-air Mubi Market will take over The Salt Shed's Fairgrounds with local food-and-drink vendors, a record-store pop-up shop, games, giveaways, and more.

They call this three-day market One of a Kind for a reason. A whopping 350 artists from around the country will fill out one floor in the Merchandise Mart for the spring edition of this seasonal bazaar. Take a look at the show's website for a full list of vendors making everything from handpainted ceramic mugs and cool textured pillows to carved wooden bottlestoppers. Come for the shopping and stick around for daily fashion shows and a gourmet market stocked with lots of tasty treats.

Presented by the experts at the Rum Lab, the 9th annual Chicago Rum Festival (formerly the Midwest Run Festival) brings together producers from across the world for an afternoon of tastings and mingling on Saturday, April 26. Guests can choose from one of five different tickets — including a new-for-2025 DaiquiriMANIA session celeb rating the classic daiquiri cocktail — and work their way through a variety of rum expressions, accompanied by complimentary snacks and live music. All attendees will receive a three-ounce souvenir cup.

Take a springtime stroll through Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood and indulge in a culinary adventure on Saturday, April 26. From 2pm to 5pm, you’ll have the chance to savor bites from more than 20 of the area’s top restaurants and bars, including El Taco Cart, The Villa Toscana, Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club, Elevate Coffee, Big Gay Sal’s Pizza, Roscoe’s Tavern, AJI Omakase, GoodTimes Brewery and more. A $25 ticket will get you unlimited tastings, including samples of a variety of beers, spirits and cocktails. (Note: Due to the presence of alcohol, the crawl is 21-and-over.) 

Cherry blossom season is officially here and Chicagoans can see them at several places around the city. One of the most popular spots, Jackson Park’s historic Garden of the Phoenix and surrounding Columbia Basin, will hold a viewing festival on Saturday, April 26. Attendees can expect to find 180 stunningly beautiful blooming trees along with performances from Tsukasa Taiko, children’s taiko drumming workshops, spring-themed origami folding and a workshop focused on e-tegami, the Japanese art of "picture letter." 

Mexico in a Bottle returns to Chicago for an afternoon of mezcal, Mexican food, music and more at Bridgeport Art Center. On Sunday, April 27th, enjoy a full-scale tasting event where you can sip on a bevy of mezcal, tequila, rum, whiskey, gin, wine and beer selections from the finest Mexican brands, with Amatiteña Tequila, Dakabend Rum, Cerveza Monopolio, Mezcal Vago, Neta Spirits, Flor del Desierto Sotol and more on the lineup of participating producers. In between drinks, refuel with bites from notable local restaurants like Carnitas Uruapan and Mi Tocaya.

You don't just have to celebrate Irish culture and tradition on St. Patrick's Day. From Tuesday, April 22 through Sunday, April 27, Irish dance sensation Riverdance is stepping its way to Chicago for its special 30th anniversary tour. The world-famous show has been invigorated with new choreography, costuming, state-of-the-art visual effects and a brand-new cast of performers (all of whom were not born when show began three decades ago—yes, we feel old too.) Being held at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, the new two-hour production is composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan.

Every night in our dreams, we've wished for this moment: Titanique the Musical is cruising into Chicago! The smash-hit comedy, in which "the music of Céline Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the film Titanic," is gearing up for a Chicago run as a co-production from Porchlight Music Theatre and Broadway in Chicago, with performances set for the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place this spring. 

Led by actress Clare Kennedy McLaughlin, who will play the French-Canadian pop diva herself, Chicago's Titanique will retell the fictionalized story of Titanic's sinking from James Cameron’s 1997 Blockbuster, albeit using Dion's famous power ballads to push the plot forward. Featured tunes include “Because You Loved Me,” “All By Myself,” “To Love You More,” “Tell Him,” “Beauty and the Beast" and two of Dion's most-loved covers, “River Deep, Mountain High” and “I Drove All Night," culminating, of course, in that radio juggernaut “My Heart Will Go On.” 

Experience 5,000 years of Chinese history through dance, enchanting live orchestra music, authentic costumes and interactive backdrops. Shen Yun brings audiences back to a time when divine beings walked the earth—performances feature around 20 segments that rapidly move between regions, legends and dynasties. The classical Chinese dance company tours the globe with an all-new program each year, working to preserve the traditions of Chinese culture, and it's coming to the Chicago area this spring with runs in University Park, Rosemont and the Windy City's Civic Opera House. 

This annual festival assembles luminaries from the fields of politics, journalism and the arts for a multi-week series of programming across the city, with events ranging from lectures and discussions to screenings and musical performances. Not sure which events to hit? Attendees can explore the five Festival Days, full days of programming in a given neighborhood, including in Lakeview on April 27, in Bridgeport on May 10, in Lincoln Park on May 18, and at the Art Institute of Chicago on June 7, as well as thought-provoking discussions and exciting live performances sprinkled throughout the schedule. 

Some of the fest’s biggest speakers this season include Broadway star Leslie Odom, Jr., beloved comedian Ed Helms, artist Tonika Lewis Johnson, musicians like Jon Batiste and Jim Jaramusch, podcaster Ezra Kein, TV icon Paul Reiser, bestselling author Ron Chernow and more. You can see a full schedule of programming on the Chicago Humanities Festival website.

Winter is almost over and the Garfield Park Conservatory is here to usher in warmer days with its annnual Spring Flower Show. Make a reservation to explore this year's theme, "Rooted in Mystery," which explores the critical part of plants we don't see hidden underground. You'll find spring bulbs like azaleas, pansies, snapdragons, astilbe, baptisia, hydrangeas and more. The show only sticks around through Mother's Day weekend, so book your visit soon!

Bingo Loco, an interactive rave show that takes place in cities around the world, comes to West Loop’s Morgan MFG this spring, with five dates in Chicago (March 28, April 11, April 25, May 10 and May 23.) The traditional game of bingo gets reimagined as a three-hour long immersive experience, complete with epic dance offs, rave rounds, lip sync battles, confetti showers, CO2 cannons, conga lines and prizes ranging from international trips to lawnmowers. One thing’s for sure—this ain’t bingo night at the senior center.

You’ve probably seen a Shakespeare play before, but never like this. Five professional actors come together for each performance of Drunk Shakespeare. The twist? One of them has had five shots before the show and is trying to stay on track while the other four actors do their best to hold the performance together.

Escape the planet with exhibits about the first lunar missions, the solar system and more, plus immersive shows in the dome theater. The Doane Observatory is also home to the largest public telescope in the area, and gathers 7,000 times more light than the human eye. Every Wednesday, the Adler stays open late from 4pm-10pm so that folks can visit after work or school. And best of all, admission is free on those nights for Illinois residents.

This weekly “live magazine” is a cavalcade of culture, politics and wit featuring journalists, actors, comedians and musicians offering idiosyncratic reports on the news of the day. Head to Uptown’s iconic Green Mill for drinks, hot takes and laughs; the longstanding Saturday afternoon edition tends to run about two and a half hours.

For more than 30 years, the Neo-Futurists have been delighting late-night crowds with performances that pack 30 miniature plays into a 60-minute show. The company's signature show is more unpredictable than ever these days, with a handful of compact new plays premiering every week. Within the span of 10 minutes, you may be treated to a poignant monologue about everyday life or an irreverent diatribe delivered by a pantsless member of the cast—all inspired by the experiences of the performers on stage. Always changing and evolving, it's the rare show that truly offers something different everytime you show up to see it.

What’s better than a show at the Empty Bottle? A free show at the Empty Bottle. Every Monday, Chicago’s premier indie rock club hosts a free concert. Check the website for a schedule of upcoming performances and to RSVP.

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