Best Bets: Play ball! Professional baseball returns to Rosemont, Schaumburg

Baseball’s back in the ’burbs

• The Chicago Dogs opens their 2025 season this weekend at Impact Field, 9850 Balmoral Ave., Rosemont. Opening-night attendees will receive a free jersey. On Mother’s Day, moms receive a Chicago Dogs hat, a hot dog and a mimosa. Tickets start at $10. thechicagodogs.com. Opening day: 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 9; Mother’s Day special: 3 p.m. Sunday, May 11

• In other suburban baseball news, the Schaumburg Boomers open their season Thursday, May 8, against the Windy City Thunderbolts at Wintrust Field, 1999 Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg. Fireworks follow the game. $12-$65. (847) 461-3695 or boomersbaseball.com. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8. The team returns for an 11 a.m. game Wednesday, May 14

Women take charge

Comedians Kristen Toomey, Chastity Washington, Colleen Brennan and Bridget McGuire headline the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, as part of an evening of “stand-up-momedy,” during which the comedians examine motherhood, midlife crises, marriage, dating and more. Tickets: $24.50-$31.50 for RaueNOW members; $35-$45 for nonmembers. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org. 8 p.m. Friday, May 9

Davis salutes Davis

Emmy Award-winning trumpet player and composer Orbert Davis, co-founder of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and his quintet play their favorite selections from Miles Davis’ repertoire Friday in Evanston. The performance, which will be recorded live for WDCB 90.9 FM’s “Chicago Jazz Live,” takes place at Studio5, 1934 Dempster St., Evanston. $35, $45. studio5.dance. 8 p.m. Friday, May 9

9/11 memorial comes to Rosemont

Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Never Forget mobile exhibit, a traveling tribute to the heroes and victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, comes to Parkway Bank Park, 5501 Park Place, Rosemont, this weekend. The free exhibition includes artifacts from Ground Zero, along with video and audio recordings. rosemont.com/thepark/ or t2t.org/. 2-8 p.m. Friday, May 9, and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 10

Chicago opera fest returns

The fifth season of the Opera Festival of Chicago commences Friday with Italo Montemezzi’s “The Love of Three Kings,” about a blind king who suspects his daughter-in-law of infidelity and confronts her with deadly consequences. The festival also includes a “Delicatessen Recital” (June 5) showcasing young artists performing songs inspired by food, another concert titled “Love is a Triangle” (June 14) and performances of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci June 27 and 29. Performances take place at venues in the suburbs and Chicago. $25-$50. operafestivalchicago.org. Friday, May 9, through June 29. “The Love of Three Kings” takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 11, at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago

Ballet Chicago salutes Ballanchine

Ballet Chicago celebrates its 30th anniversary during its spring repertory titled “Balanchine + Beyond” at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, Chicago. Showcasing classical and contemporary ballet, the program features works by legendary choreographer George Balanchine including “Serenade” (1935), set to Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48,” and “Rubies,” from his full-length 1967 ballet “Jewels,” set to Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. The program also includes resident choreographer Ted Seymour’s 2015 work “Danzón!,” which combines Latin ballroom styles and classical ballet and is set to Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s “Danzon #2,” as well as the premiere of Seymour’s new children’s ballet set to music by American composer William Grant. $32-$71. harristheaterchicago.org. 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 10

Street art at the Botanic

Italian street artist Greg Goya brings “La Stagione Dell’amore,” three interactive art installations inspired by love and the changing seasons, to the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. Each piece invites visitors to become part of the installation by writing a thought or taking a photo, with the goal being to create a space where people can freely express emotions and connect with others. Cook County residents $18.95 adults, $12.95 kids; nonresidents $20.95 adults, $14.95 kids. (847) 835-6801 or chicagobotanic.org. Saturday, May 10, through May 17 (art performances begin at 3 p.m. May 10, 14 and 17)

Musicians celebrate their heritage

• Julien Dassin, son of 1960s American-French crooner Joe Dassin, who died in 1980 at 41, performs some of his father’s greatest hits — including “Les Champs-Élysées” and “Et Si Tu N’Existais Pas” — at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago. Tickets start at $69. showoneproductions.com. 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 13

• Violinist Brandi Berry Benson, artistic director of the Bach & Beethoven Experience and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, performs a concert titled “The Story of Pa I Sha,” consisting of pieces that reflect her Chickasaw heritage. The free concert takes place at the Regenstein Hall of Music, Northwestern University, 60 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. (847) 491-3741 or brandiberrybenson.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15