Entertainment

Best Bets: Long Grove Chocolate Fest and Morton’s ‘Vivid Creatures,’ Santa’s Village open

Posted May 13, 2025 1:54 pm

Barbara Vitello

A variety of chocolate treats await visitors to Long Grove's Chocolate Fest. Courtesy of Historic Long Grove

Sweet celebration

Long Grove celebrates 25 years of sweet fun during Chocolate Fest, which features an assortment of chocolate-infused foods, beverages and desserts, plus music and other activities, in downtown Long Grove, 145 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove. Free. longgrove.org/festival/chocolatefest. Noon to 11 p.m. Friday, May 16; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 17; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 18

Trinity Irish Dance Company launches its season this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Courtesy of Todd Rosenberg Photography

Dance, dance, dance

• The Trinity Irish Dance Company launches its 35th season at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. $40-$75. trinityirishdancecompany.com. 7 p.m. Friday, May 16; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17; and 1 p.m. Sunday, May 18

• Hubbard Street Dance concludes its 47th season this weekend with a premiere by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre interim director Matthew Rushing, along with “Sweet Gwen Suite,” a tribute to Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, and “Blue Soup” by resident artist Aszure Barton at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. $20-$110. (312) 850-9744, ext. 5, or hubbardstreetdance.com. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 18

The Hiplet Ballerinas, whose performances combine pointe, hip-hop and other dance styles, perform at The Auditorium. Courtesy of Philip Dembinski

• Chicago’s Hiplet Ballerinas, who perform a technique that combines classical pointe, hip-hop and other styles of dance, perform “Dipped in Versatility,” a program that includes world premieres by associate artistic director Taylor Edwards and Tre Daniels. The performance takes place at The Auditorium, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $39. (312) 341-2300 or auditoriumtheatre.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17

The Driehaus Museum salutes Scottish artist Rory McEwen in its new exhibition, “Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature,” that includes more than 100 works by the late artist. Courtesy of the estate of Rory McEwen

Botanical art exhibition

The Driehaus Museum, 50 E. Erie St., Chicago, devotes its latest exhibition to botanical art master, Scottish artist Rory McEwen. “Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature” features more than 100 works depicting flowers, leaves and vegetables and including sculptures and manuscripts along with works by contemporary botanical artists who continue McEwen’s legacy. His work also will be featured this summer at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Morton Arboretum and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students. driehausmuseum.org. Friday, May 16, through Aug. 17

The Morton Arboretum opens “Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees,” featuring sculptures by artists Heather BeGaetz and Fez BeGaetz. Courtesy of Heather BeGaetz and Feb BeGaetz

Morton Arboretum’s ‘Vivid Creatures’

“ Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees” opens Saturday at the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle. The exhibition consists of five larger-than-life sculptures of animals that are essential to the Illinois ecosystem created for the arboretum by Portland, Oregon-based artists Heather BeGaetz and Fez BeGaetz and nestled among the arboretum’s landscape. Free with admission. $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, $12 for kids. (630) 968-0074 or mortonarb.org. Opens Saturday, May 17

Summer at Santa’s Village

Santa’s Village Amusement and Water Park, 601 Dundee Ave., East Dundee, opens for the 2025 season Saturday with roller coasters and thrill rides, kiddie rides, animal attractions and a water park. Daily admission: $38.99; season passes: $89.99. (847) 426-6751 or santasvillagedundee.com. Opens Saturday, May 17

Comedian Paula Poundstone headlines The Den Theatre Saturday, May 17.

Just for laughs

• Comedian, podcaster and “Wait, Wait … Don't Tell Me” panelist Paula Poundstone headlines The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. $43.75-$76.50, plus a two-item minimum. (773) 697-3830 or thedentheatre.com. 7:15 p.m. Saturday, May 17

• The Bad Momz of Comedy perform at the Showroom at Barrington Boat Company, 99 Kazimour Drive, Port Barrington. $40. barringtonboatcompany.com. 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17

Family fun

• Parkway Bank Park, 5501 Park Place, Rosemont, hosts its annual Spring Fun Fest, a family-friendly event consisting of entertainment by Jeanie B. and the Jelly Beans, bounce houses, a petting zoo, balloon sculptors and face painters. Free. parkwaybankpark.com. 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 18

• 360 All Stars, described as an urban circus during which performers dazzle audiences with BMX stunts, breakdancing and gymnastics, performs at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Tickets start at $5. (847) 931-5900 or hemmens.org. 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18

Spider-Man comes to town

Original “Spider-Man” artwork, rare comic books, film props and costumes make up the latest Griffin Museum of Science and Industry blockbuster “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing — The Exhibition” at 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. The immersive exhibition chronicles the history of the comic book superhero, beginning with his first comic book appearance in 1962 up through his present-day film incarnation. $25.95 adults, $14.95 kids 3-11. msichicago.org. Thursday, May 22, through Feb. 8, 2026

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