Entertainment

Best Bets: Celebrate July 4 with baseball, music and fireworks

Posted July 01, 2025 12:24 pm

Barbara Vitello

The Chicago Dogs baseball team celebrates Independence Day and Elvis Presley this weekend in Rosemont. Courtesy of Matt Zuro

Celebrate with the Chicago Dogs, Schaumburg Boomers

The Chicago Dogs professional baseball team delivers a fireworks extravaganza following their Independence Day game against the Kane County Cougars. The first 1,500 fans to arrive at Impact Field, 9850 Balmoral Ave., Rosemont, receive a Chicago Weiners flag. $10-$25. (847) 636-5450 or thechicagodogs.com. Game at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 4; fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Friday

• On Saturday, the Chicago Dogs invite fans to dress as Elvis Presley for “Elvis Night,” which includes a fireworks display following the team’s game against the Kane County Cougars. Pregame performance from 4:45-5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 5, followed by the game at 6 p.m.

The Schaumburg Boomers host a fireworks extravaganza following the Friday and Saturday, July 4-5, games against the Evansville Otters. JOE LEWNARD/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

• Pro baseball team Schaumburg Boomers host a postgame fireworks extravaganza following this weekend’s matchups against the Evansville Otters at Wintrust Field, 1999 S. Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg. The first 1,500 attendees receive a patriotic Boomers bucket hat. $16.35-$74.57. boomerbaseball.com. Games at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 4-5; fireworks to follow both nights

All-American celebration

The Grant Park Music Festival’s annual Independence Day salute consists of patriotic favorites and Broadway hits performed by Imara Miles, “Yankee Doodle Fantasy” featuring principal percussionist Josh Jones, and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Grant Park Chorus Director Christopher Bell conducts the performance, which takes place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Reserved seating starts at $27. Free lawn seating. grantparkmusicfestival.com. 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 4

Robert Lostutter’s “Forktailed Wood Nymph and Ruby Topaz Hummingbird” is among the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago collection featured in the new exhibition “City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago.” Courtesy of Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

MCA exhibition examines queer art, activism

The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, this weekend opens its new exhibition, “City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago,” which examines the city’s queer history from the 1980s to the present and its role in the evolution of queer art and activism. According to organizers, “the title speaks to the exhibited artists’ and activists’ utopian visions of a metropolitan sanctuary for people of all races, genders and sexualities.” Chicago resident adults: $19; kids, students and seniors: $10; nonresident adults $22; kids, students and seniors: $14. (312) 280-2660 or mcachicago.org. Opens Saturday, July 5

Bridgeview celebrates world culture

Sones de Mexico, the Chicago music ensemble formed in 1994, performs during the family-friendly World Fair US, which showcases the art, culture, dance and food of the Americas, Europe, East Asia, Japan and South Korea, at SeatGeek Stadium, 7000 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview. Fest hours are 3-10 p.m. weekdays and 3-11 p.m. weekends Monday, July 7, through July 28. Day passes are $17 for adults, $10 for kids 4-15, $70 for a family of up to eight. worldfairus.com. Sones de Mexico headlines at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, and July 17 and 20

Members of Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl perform Thursday, July 10, at Aurora's Paramount Theatre.

Paramount welcomes Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl

Vocalist Boyito Cruz joins Mexican folk dance ensemble Ballet Folklorico Quetzalcoatl for its 42nd annual anniversary concert showcasing the diverse styles of Mexico’s various regions at the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. $29.63-$35.35. (630) 896-6666 or paramountaurora.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10

Writers discuss romance, religion

The American Writers Museum series “American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture” continues at 180 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd Floor, Chicago. Romance authors Sajni Patel, Scarlett St. Clair and Helene Wecker discuss incorporating religion into their work, retelling myths and dealing with their characters’ spiritual beliefs. $12.51. americanwritersmuseum.org. 6 p.m. Thursday, July 10

Members of Ethiopia’s Circus Abyssinia perform Thursday, July 10, through Aug. 3 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Courtesy of David Rubene

Ethiopian circus dazzles at Navy Pier

Ethiopian acrobats, aerial artists, jugglers and other circus artists perform with Circus Abyssinia, the family-friendly circus in a limited engagement at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Created by brothers Mehari “Bibi” Tesfamariam and Binyam “Bichu” Shimellis, Circus Abyssinia's “Ethiopian Dreams” follows Little Bibi and Little Bichu on their quest to join the circus to “embark on an adventure with like-minded dreamers.” $29-$56. (312) 595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com. Thursday, July 10, through Aug. 3

World of wonder

The WNDR Museum, 1130 W. Monroe St., Chicago, debuts “Timekeepers 3D,” its largest immersive exhibition. Wearing 3D glasses, guests will feel like they’re traveling through wormholes to experience surreal moments in history and the future. Timed, dated tickets start at $34.99. wndrmuseum.com/location/chicago. 1-7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday; noon to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. The museum closes at 6 p.m. Friday, July 4

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