Midwest travel: Music fest to rock Belmont-Sheffield area
Chicago
Trendy tunes
The intersection of Belmont and Sheffield is the hub of Chicago's trendy Lakeview neighborhood, and the yearly Belmont-Sheffield Music Festival doesn't disappoint. Located steps from the Belmont Red Line L stop, the 31st annual festival kicks off over Memorial Day weekend. The popular street party will showcase the region's favorite original and tribute bands, plenty of food and beverages from the neighborhood's restaurants, as well as artisans offering their handiwork. Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, on North Sheffield Avenue between Belmont and School streets, Chicago. $5 suggested entry donation. (773) 868-3010 or chicagoevents.com.
Mole de Mayo
If you say "ole mole" because you love sampling varieties of the Mexican sauce, get to the annual Memorial Day weekend fiesta Mole de Mayo that includes a mole cook-off, live music, DJs, kids' activities, an open-air market, and food and drink vendors from nearby restaurants like La Cebollita Grill and local taquerias. Plus, don't miss the contest of wills between lucha libre wrestlers. Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 23, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 24, at Peoria and 18th streets, Chicago. Free. (312) 733-2287 or eighteenthstreet.org.
Rockin' and rollin'
MB Financial Park welcomes summer with its Rockin' in the Park series of live outdoor concerts. The free weekly series launches with a Hawaiian-themed pub crawl and concert Sunday, May 24, and then the concerts continue on Thursday evenings through the beginning of September. Take in an array of cover bands playing the music of Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Daughtry, The Who and more, plus food and beverage tents on the park's expansive lawn and a musical fireworks display after every show. 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, May 24, and Sept. 6, and Thursdays, May 28 through Sept. 3, at MB Financial Park at Rosemont, 5501 Park Place, Rosemont. Free. (847) 349-5554 or mbparkatrosemont.com.
Midwest
Spring walk and cruise tour
Get up early for a self-guided eight-mile morning hike from Lake Geneva to Williams Bay, Wisconsin, then hop aboard the Grand Belle boat for a cruise and onboard Champagne Sunday brunch buffet, including appetizers, six entrees, desserts and a narrated tour. During your Spring Walk and Cruise Tour, you can walk along the public lake shoreline (on the path only) and see multimillion-dollar estates, gorgeous gardens and more before a Lake Geneva Cruise Line passenger boat picks you up at the Williams Bay pier before returning to the starting point in Lake Geneva. Hike starts at 8:30 a.m. Sundays May 17, 24 and 31 and June 7 and 14 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Cost is $44 for adults, $42 for seniors 65 and older, $33 for students 13-17, and $27 for kids 4-12. Reservations are required. (800) 588-5911 or cruiselakegeneva.com/boats-tours/lake-walk-tours.
Chocolate-covered weekend
Calling itself The Chocolate City, Burlington, Wisconsin, goes all out for its ChocolateFest. The Chocolate Experience Tent has a professional chef competition, chocolate carvings, chocolate sampling and kids' games, which they'll need after the sugar infusion. Take the family to the carnival midway to enjoy live music, an arts and craft fair, a Friday night fireworks show and a parade on Memorial Day. 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, May 22; 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, on the ChocolateFest Grounds, 680 Maryland Ave. (off Highway 36), Burlington, Wisconsin. Admission is $8 for ages 12 and older, $3 for kids 5-12. chocolatefest.com.
Otherworldly
The intersection of art, science fiction and fantasy does not occur during a Kardashian TV show, but rather, when the exhibition, "A Whole Other World: Sub-Culture Craft" opens at the Racine Art Museum. The art and artists address themes of Doctor Who, Star Wars, Super Heroes and Steampunk. Plus, artists accentuate the value of the handmade, merging skills and imagination with gripping stories and characters, inspired by modern science fiction, fantasy, history and imaginary worlds. Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 24, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday though Saturday, May 26-Sept. 6, at the Racine Art Museum (RAM), 441 Main St., Racine, Wisconsin. Admission is $5 for adults, and $3 for seniors and teens 12-16. (262) 638-8300 of ramart.org.