Best bets: Fests of frights and apples
Scream and shout
Starting on Saturday, the monsters and creatures of Fright Fest once again take over Six Flags Great America at I-94 and Grand Ave., Gurnee. $61.99; $41.99 for kids under 48 inches tall. (847) 294-4636 or sixflags.com. Schedule varies on weekends (with select Thursday and Fridays hours) from Saturday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 28
Pieces of Liberty
Full-scale copper sections of the Statue of Liberty are reproduced and displayed as part of Danh Vo's ongoing worldwide project “We The People,” now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago's Pritzker Garden and Bluhm Family Terrace, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, and at the University of Chicago's Law School, Booth Business School and the Oriental Institute Museum. Free admission at University of Chicago locations. Part of $16-$18 general admission for Art Institute. (312) 443-3600 or artic.edu; (773) 702-8670 or renaissancesociety.org. Now through Sunday, Dec. 16; Art Institute hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. Thursday); Renaissance Society hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Apples aplenty
More than 50 shops and restaurants create seasonal gifts and treats as part of Long Grove's 20th Annual Apple Festival this weekend at Long Grove Historic Village on Old McHenry Road, Long Grove. $5, kids under age 12 admitted free. (847) 634-0888 or longgroveonline.com. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 28-30
Dickens effects
Commemorate the bicentennial of Charles Dickens' birth with the exhibit “Dickens: 200 Years of Celebrity,” which features personal items owned by the great Victorian author starting Monday at the Lake County Discovery Museum, $6; $3 seniors; $2.50 kids ages 4 to 17. Discounts on Tuesdays. (847) 968-3400 or lcfpd.org. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday; exhibit continues through Feb. 24
Great Gershwin
Cabaret star and musicologist Michael Feinstein performs songs by George and Ira Gershwin with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra this Saturday at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. $32-$92. (800) 982-2787 or auditoriumtheatre.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29
Classical fusion
The Chicago Sinfonietta, under the direction of Mei-Ann Chen, teams up with the New York ensemble PROJECT Trio for two performances of the concert “Performance. Art.” — first at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, then at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. $40-$50 in Naperville; $26-$50; $10 students in Chicago. (312) 236-3681 ext. 2 or chicagosinfonietta.org. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 in Naperville; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1 in Chicago
Amish tragedy
Performing Arts at Oakton presents Jessica Dickey's drama “The Amish Project,” which was inspired by the killing of five girls at a Pennsylvania Amish school in 2006. The staged reading is this weekend at Oakton Community College's Studio One, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. $8. (847) 635-1900 or oakton.edu. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30
Jersey boy
Comedian and New Jersey native Bret Ernst (“Weeds,” “Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too”) performs standup starting Wednesday at Zanies at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $23 plus a two-item menu purchase. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com. 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 3 and 4; 8 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5; 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6
New commission
The African-American and Latino youth orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi teams up with the female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock and the Chicago Children's Choir for a new commissioned piece on Thursday at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. $10-$35. (312) 334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4