Museums

Best Bets: Cantigny’s First Division Museum salutes Bob Hope

Posted September 17, 2025 9:38 am

Barbara Vitello

Comedian Bob Hope, seen here entertaining sailors of the U.S. 6th Fleet Saratoga on Dec. 19, 1970, is the subject of “So Ready for Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope,” a multimedia exhibition at the First Museum Division at Cantigny. AP, Dec. 19, 1970

Cantigny celebrates Bob Hope

The First Museum Division at Cantigny, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton, debuts “So Ready for Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope,” a multimedia exhibition that examines the actor/comedian’s contribution to the nation’s war effort during World War II. A longtime supporter of U.S. soldiers, Hope entertained troops for 50 years, from World War II through Operation Desert Storm. Admission is $6 per vehicle weekdays, $16 per vehicle on weekends. fdmuseum.org. Friday, Sept. 19, through Dec. 7

Ann Murdy’s “Grave Decorating in Tzintzuntzan” is part of the National Museum of Mexican Art’s “Dia de Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance” exhibition. Courtesy of the National Museum of Mexican Art

Celebrating the dearly departed

“Día de Muertos: A Celebration of Remembrance,” an exhibition examining Mexico’s tradition of celebrating the lives of those who have passed, opens this weekend at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 18th St., Chicago. Dedicated to people who lost their lives in Texas and New Mexico floods, the museum’s 39th annual Day of the Dead celebration consists of ofrendas, or altars, by local and Mexican artists. Free. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org. Opening celebration from 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Exhibition runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday through Dec. 14

Greg Schwem of Arlington Heights is among the comedians headlining a fundraiser for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance Sunday, Sept. 21, at Zanies in Rosemont. Courtesy of Brett Tuttle

Cancer benefit at Zanies

Zanies Comedy Club, 5437 Park Place, Rosemont, hosts “Laugh Your (expletive) Off,” a fundraiser for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance featuring entertainers who have had or who are undergoing treatment for the disease. WGN reporter Mike Lowe emcees the event, which features comedians Jayson Cross and Greg Schwem. $37.75, plus a two-item minimum. (847) 813-0484 or rosemont.zanies.com. 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21

A spooky ride

Volo Museum, 27582 Volo Village Road, Volo, invites visitors on a paranormal train tour recalling individuals who lived, worked and died on museum land. Tour guides also touch on unexplained occurrences that owners, employees and guests have experienced at the museum. The 25-minute tour is $3 plus regular museum admission, which starts at $13.95. volofun.com. Noon, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesdays through Nov. 2

This weekend at the Raue Center

• GreenRoom Improv returns to the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, for a clean, high-energy show. $24 adults, $17 students; 30% discount for RaueNOW members. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org. 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19

• Bennie Wheels and Lori Gravel bring their “Cash and Cline Show,” celebrating the music of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, to the Raue Center for the Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. Tickets start at $43; 30% discount for RaueNOW members. (815) 356-9212 or rauecenter.org. 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20

Blues great Buddy Guy will perform at Navy Pier this weekend as part of Chicago Live! Courtesy of Lyndon French

Chicago Live! on Navy Pier

Blues legend Buddy Guy is among more than 100 artists, performers and ensembles participating in Chicago Live!, a free performing arts festival taking place on Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Performances include world premieres from Giordano Dance Chicago, Aerial Dance Chicago, trumpeter Victor Garcia, Momenta Dance Company and the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra. Also scheduled to appear: About Face Theatre, Ballet Folklorico Sones Mexicanos, the Trinity Irish Dance Company, Lookingglass Theatre, Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago, the Margaret Murphy Jazz Band, the Chicago Philharmonic and others. navypier.org. Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21

Salute to the fringe

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s Full Circle Festival, showcasing physical, fringe and dance theater works, features performances of the plays “Every Brilliant Thing” and “The Storage Closet,” plus an interactive cabaret incorporating clowning and music and an all-ages comedy about two dads navigating life after their kids leave the nest. The fest takes place at 1650 W. Foster Ave., Chicago. $10-$20. danztheatre.org. Friday, Sept. 19, through Sept. 28

Red Clay Dance Company premieres “Freedom Square: A Blackgirlhood Altar” by founding artistic director Vershawn Sanders-Ward. Courtesy of Raymond Jerome

Red Clay Dance premiere

Chicago’s Red Clay Dance Company opens its 17th season with the premiere of “Freedom Square: A Blackgirlhood Altar,” an interdisciplinary work depicting freedom for Black women and girls, choreographed by founding artistic director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward. The premiere is part of the Museum of Contemporary Arts’ Chicago Performs festival taking place at the MCA, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. $30 adults, $24 seniors, $10 students. redclaydance.com. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21

Violist Stephen Boe will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Trio in E-flat Major for Clarinet, Viola and Piano with the Orion Ensemble.

In concert

• Violist Stephen Boe joins the Orion Ensemble for a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Trio in E-flat Major for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (“Kegelstatt”) and select movements of works composed by the ensemble by Sebastian Huydts and Johannes Brahms’ Quartet in G minor for Strings and Piano. $30, $25 for seniors, $15 for students. Subscriptions available. (630) 628-9591 or orionensemble.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at the New England Congregational Church, 406 W. Galena Blvd., Aurora; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, at PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago; and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

• Chicago Opera Theater hosts a public workshop of “Trusted,” an in-development work about family and legacy by composer Aaron Israel Levin and librettist Marella Martin Koch at Gannon Concert Hall, DePaul University, 2330 N. Halsted St., Chicago. The opera centers around a financial adviser exposed for orchestrating a long-term fraud whose daughters struggle to reconcile the father they knew with the crimes he committed. $40. chicagooperatheatre.org. 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21

California Gold Rush-era artifacts and coins recovered from the S.S. Central America, known as the “ship of gold,” will be on display at the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show in Rosemont. Courtesy of California Gold Marketing Group

Coins and more

California Gold Rush coins and other treasures will be on display at the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show taking place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. Dealers will be on hand to buy and sell rare coins, gold, silver and paper money and, in some cases, offer complimentary evaluations of visitors’ coins. $10 for a three-day pass. gacc.show. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 25-26, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27

Last chance to see ‘Floating World’

This weekend is your last chance to see the Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s “Hokusai & Ukiyo-e: The Floating World,” an exhibition showcasing works by masters of the ukiyo-e that features 53 woodblock prints and original paintings, including works by Hokusai, Hiroshige and their contemporaries. The exhibition concludes Sunday at the College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. $12 Friday; $22 Saturday and Sunday. (630) 942-4000 or theccma.org. 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19; 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20; and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21

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