Entertainment and Attractions

Choose from hundreds of live music shows to check out during your time in Chicago; a wide range of genres produce plenty of choice when it comes to what your ears are going to absorb musically of a given night.

Music and entertainment have been on tap at Ravinia, an open-air amphitheatre hosting a wide range of musical acts throughout the summer, since its opening in 1904. Though owners have come and gone, this more-than-100-year-old festival (the oldest in the country) keeps plugging away to add sweet notes to summer on Chicago's North Shore. More than 600,000 listeners attend up to 160 events through a season that features classical, jazz, music theater, and bands you might not expect, like the Steve Miller Band.

When it comes to theater in Chicago, you'll see shows that are bound for the national stage and others that have more local flavor. Large productions abound at historic venues like the Cadillac Palace Theatre, the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, and The LaSalle Bank Theatre. Great theaters are located throughout the city, but this is the concentrated heart of the Chicago theater community. Adding to the theater scene in the area are the hundreds of dining and shopping options you'll have at hand here, from large department stores to well-known boutiques and jewelers.

Chicago's home to over 150 dance companies. All of these Chicago dance companies dance, produce, and choreograph cutting-edge performances year-round. There's the heavy-hitter companies, like The Joffrey Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to small- to mid-sized ones producing programs as diverse as the companies themselves. Whether it's jazz, tap, modern, ballet, and hip hop or traditional Irish dance and African rhythms—there's truly something for everyone.

The area just west and south of St. Louis is known as Missouri Wine Country, and is brimming with wineries and vineyards. Take a trip down the Weinstrasse, or "Wine Road", also known as Missouri Highway 94, to reach wine country and many of Missouri's wineries.

Navy Pier is almost a hundred years old, but don't let its age fool you. Today's Pier is just as modern as Chicago itself, offering enough entertainment to keep all branches of the family tree busy. When visiting the ultimate tourist destination of the Midwest, be prepared for an action-packed day, as this year-round carnival cranks out fun regardless of the season.

Navy Pier Family Video

The John Hancock Building, located at the heart of Chicago's Magnificent Mile, features gorgeous views of the city and multiple tourist attractions.

Known for man-made landmarks like the gargantuan Sears Tower, Chicago is still a city that likes its nature. Natural life abounds here and nowhere more so than the grounds of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Plants of every kind are organized around the 385-acre property and the avian species (birds!) know a good thing when they see it.

ICE ART

Millennium Park exhibit adapts frozen water into a unique artistic medium in Chicago. 

www.choosechicago.com/ice/

Irishman Mike Austin recounts the eccentricities of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago.

ARTropolis takes up three full floors of the city's Merchandise Mart from April 24-28. The centerpiece is Art Chicago, a 180-gallery art fair representing more than 2,000 artists.

Be a part of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show in 2008 with a viral video project and win a free chance to demonstrate your company at the 2008 NRA Show in Chicago.

Professional chefs and home cooks alike can submit entries of themselves preparing their favorite recipes using trendy food- and alcohol-related ingredients. See this for more details.

We take a look at all the creepy-crawlies at Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium.  Come see the wide array of aquatic life that the Shedd has to offer. 

Chicago 's most interactive museum demands a spot on everyone's sight-seeing list. Focusing on modern, industrial science and technology, nearly every exhibit in The Museum of Science and Industry is, to some extent, hands-on. Which means parents won't be hushing excited kids, but encouraging them to experience and learn.

Chicago Trolley Stops Here! 

The Taste of Chicago is where Chicago residents and visitors come and enjoy a variety of Chicago's restaurants in Grant Park. This 10 day festival starting June 27-July 6. will not only feed you, but entertain you with music performances and activities.

The vaunted Taste of Chicago only comes around once a year, and if the chance to sample a range of chow from gourmet French cuisine to grandma's comfort food isn't enought to whet your appetite, the free concerts featuring musical powerhouses to an entire stage devoted to kids alike should be enough to coax you out of your kitchen and down to Grant Park for a day.

Food admirers everywhere have plenty to be excited about when it comes to the 2008 Taste of Chicago. With 65 participating restarants, there is something for any and all taste buds.

The Brookfield Zoo has a collection of exotic animals from across the world and many aquatic species that you would expect to see in an aquarium. Interactive zoo classes and top of the line animal care that is continusouly revolutionalizing the zoo community make this a family-friendly attraction a sight to be seen.

The Lincoln Park Zoo offers a diverse array of options when it comes to state-of-the-art animal viewing, conservation, and research. The collection of animals from around the world will have everyone chanting: "Lions, Tigers, and Bears, oh my!". Besides the typical Wizard of Oz trio of animals, the apes, giraffes, camels, seals, and rhinos are also on display for up close and personal interaction. 

Overview
The first of its kind in the U.S., The DuSable Museum of African American History shares the stories of the struggles and triumphs of African Americans throughout U.S. history. The museum focuses not only on the well known leaders, but also the unsung heroes who paved the way for equality throughout history.

The John Hancock Obeservatory's attractions are what lead tourists to this destination. Attractions include tours that showcase the magnificence of the building's altitude with Sky Tours and the history of Chicago with History Avenue.