Best Bets: Great America opening, Long Grove Craft Beer Fest, and The Venue fetes Delmark blues
50 years of summer fun
Six Flags Great America marks its 50th season at 1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee. The park opens officially this weekend, but the summer-long celebration begins in earnest on June 20 and includes a new, nighttime spectacle, a new drone show, an exhibition including park artifacts, specialty food and beverages and themed experiences. Season passes start at $79. Daily tickets start at $45, with an additional charge for Hurricane Harbor tickets. sixflags.com/greatamerica. Opens Saturday, April 25
Long Grove beer fest
About two dozen breweries, cideries and distilleries will participate in Long Grove’s annual Craft Beer Festival this weekend at Brothers’ Field, 340 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove. The event also includes food vendors and music by Bluewater Creek. $70, includes taster glass and unlimited samples. longgrove.org/festivals/craftbeerfest. Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 25
Salute to Chicago blues
The Venue, 21 S. Broadway, Aurora, hosts Delmark Day, a combination workshop and concert celebrating Chicago blues and artists with Chicago’s Delmark Records, one of the oldest independent blues and jazz labels in the country. Performers include the Delmark All-Stars — Mike Wheeler, Big Ray, Larry Williams and Roosevelt Purifoy — with 18-year-old vocalist Jaden Allen and Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band. Between acts, DJ and Delmark president Julia Miller spins records from the label’s catalog. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. themusicvenue.org. 6 p.m. Saturday, April 25
Calling all ukulele lovers
Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway, Aurora, hosts its ninth annual Aurora Ukulele Festival featuring performances, jam sessions, workshops and an open mic. $25 per day, $40 for both days. twobrothersbrewing.com/roundhouse-events. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 25, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 26
Laugh it up on the North Shore
• The Capitol Fools, a comedy troupe that specializes in political satire and is composed of former Capitol Steps members, performs at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $52.25-$67.70. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26
• Comedian/actor and Chicago native Hannibal Buress (“The Secret Life of Pets 2,” “Spider- Man: No Way Home”) headlines the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets start at $49. (847) 673-6300 or northshorecenter.org. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29
Picturing Holst’s ‘Planets’
Astronomer José Francisco Salgado joins the West Suburban Symphony’s multimedia performance of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” at Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center, North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. Salgado will share visuals and insights into each planet. $35 adults, $30 seniors, $10 teens. northcentralcollege.edu/show. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25
Dance in Chicago
• The world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to The Auditorium, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, to debut six new works. The company’s brief residency consists of two programs, with each featuring the company's signature “Revelations,” set to African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel and blues, plus three Chicago premieres. Tickets start at $46. (312) 341-2300 or auditoriumtheatre.org. 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24; 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25; and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26
• Hedwig Dances premieres three new works as part of “Nexus,” the program the company performs at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Among the premieres is founder and artistic director Jan Bartoszek’s “Moon Studies,” about our connection to the moon; “De Profundis,” Milo Sachse-Hofheimer’s examination of grief; and “Table of the Years,” Heriberto Meneses’ ode to friendship. $37.73. HedwigDances.com. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26
• Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s spring series continues with premieres of “Immense World” by Shannon Alvis and Joe Cerqua and “We Intersect” by Monique Haley and Cerqua. The program also includes “A Place Between Earth & Sky” by Alvis and Clarice Assad. Performances take place at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. $10-$30. CerquaRivera.org. 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 30-May 1, and noon Saturday, May 2
NMMA examines spirituality
The new exhibition “Images of Faith: 3000 Years of Spiritual Expressions” opens this weekend at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., Chicago. The exhibition pairs ancient artifacts with contemporary icons to illustrate spiritual beliefs and sacred rituals in Mexico, including Catholic traditions and the spiritual principles of ancient Mesoamerican societies and present-day Indigenous communities. Free. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org. Friday, April 24, through Aug. 16
Salute to young filmmakers
Cinema/Chicago hosts its 21st CineYouth Festival showcasing filmmakers 22 and younger. The 71 short films by filmmakers from Australia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Estonia, India, Peru, Taiwan and the United States will be showcased during the festival, which will stream online. Free, but tickets are required. chicagofilmfestival.com/cineyouth. Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, at FACETS, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago; streaming April 27-May 3
New magic venue opens in Chicago
The Hand & The Eye, the new immersive magic venue with multiple performance and dining spaces that opened recently in the McCormick Mansion at 100 E. Ontario St., Chicago, promises a “return to the golden age of Chicago-style live magic.” Hours are 4-11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4-10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. Reservations are required. thehandandtheeye.com.