Festivals for all: Long Grove hosts its annual Strawberry Fest; Rosemont hosts the village’s first Independence Day music fest and Skokie welcomes opera lovers to the Opera Festival of Chicago.
What is 2026’s song of the summer? There’s no easy answer. Algorithmic division is certainly a factor in why there isn’t an obvious pick this year. Whatever your summer mood or flavor, The Associated Press has found a song to soundtrack the season.
McHenry Outdoor Theater in Lakemoor will host a Major League Baseball America250 event on July 4 that will include screening of the movie “The Sandlot” and the Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals game.
Mark your calendar for Swedish Days in Geneva, the Long Grove Strawberry Fest, Wauconda Fest, Frontier Days in Arlington Heights, Mundelein Community Days, Palatine Jaycees Hometown Fest, Northwest Fourth-Fest in Hoffman Estates and more.
Kokandy Productions stages a revival of “Hair,” Midsommer Flight delivers Shakespeare’s “As You Like it” for free in Chicago parks, and Kevin Webb stars as a theater critic mixed up with vampires in Black Button Eyes’ revival of “St. Nicholas.”
As the Fourth of July approaches, so do themed events throughout the suburbs, including festivals, parades, fireworks displays, walks and runs, concerts and more. Here’s where and when you can celebrate.
You can understand why McDonald’s reintroduced the fried apple pie for America’s birthday. The symbolism is too tantalizing to resist. But can the modern iteration of the handheld pastry compete with the treat of childhood memory?