January

Light Nights on the Magnificent Mile - Every Saturday night at 6:30 from January 8 to February 27 is a spectacular light and music show above the magnificent Chicago River. Marvel as superb fireworks light up the sky to the themed accompaniment of today's most popular and memorable music. Pioneer Court at 401 Michigan Avenue also offers perfect views of the show, free holographic viewing glasses, and prize giveaways.

February

Chicago Auto Show - This annual event is the largest auto show in the nation with over 1.2 million square feet of automobile perfection. Over 1,000 cars and trucks are on display for every car fan to drool over. But this show isn't just for gawking. There are test tracks that allow you to experience the rush of actually driving your ultimate fantasy ride. This is unlike any auto show on the planet.

June

Chicago Blues Festival - The largest free blues festival in the country has been held at Grant Park in June for the past twenty years. It features local Chicago bands as well as famous musicians from around the globe performing blues and swing music to a crowd of millions.

Artists of the Wall Festival - More than 100 artists of all ages gather at Loyola Park Beach to work together on a 600-foot mural. Anyone can come to watch artists join together in perfect harmony or enjoy the many shops and restaurants in the area.

Old Town Art Fair - Over 250 artists will display oil paintings, acrylics, sculptures, jewelry, and more as patrons eat delicious food, participate in live auctions, stroll through a scenic garden walk, and even play with their kids in an exciting children's corner play area.

July

Taste of Chicago - Grant Park is shut down for ten days as millions of people chow down on gourmet food from over 100 restaurants and food distributors, partake in fun activities and rides, and listen to live music on several stages. It all leads up to one spectacular Fourth of July celebration. The Taste of Chicago is the party to attend for anyone and everyone.

August

Chicago Air and Water Show - Two million people flock to a free two-day long air and water show involving some of the most daring aerial and aquatic acrobatics ever seen. While the event is viewable from many locations, the best view is over North Avenue Beach. From there you can see the Chicago skyline in the background as the world famous Blue Angels dazzle you with dizzying delights.

Venetian Night Boat Parade - Chicago's oldest event is modeled after a boat parade in Venice, Italy. The annual event is kicked off by a live concert at 8:30 and capped off by a musical themed fireworks show at 9:30. In between that hour is a parade of spectacularly decorated boats sailing down Lake Michigan. The boats are designed around a specific theme and all have magnificent lights illuminating the night.

September

World Music Festival - The World Music Festival is a massive, sprawling event incorporating all the museums, stores, and restaurants in downtown Chicago, as well as dozens of stages built specifically for the festival. Sixty featured performers representing over thirty countries perform live as fun and educational workshops occur in Chicago museums, parks, theaters, bookstores, and more. It's musical, it's emotional, it's fun, and it's educational. What more could you ask for in a festival with the word "music" in it?

November

Chicago Chevy Vette Festival - Over 50,000 Corvettes from the 50's to the present will be on display and sale at the largest Chevrolet Corvette show and sale in the world. Car fans will be treated to classic cars, customs tuners, prototype vehicles, new parts and accessories at discounted prices, and much more.

Christkindlmarket - A four-week long Christmas celebration with over a million visitors a day, Christkindlmarket is the main reason many tourists flock to Chicago in November. Inspired by the German Christmas Market in Nürnberg, this event starts after the parade on Thanksgiving Day and goes strong until three days before Christmas.

Over sixty-five traditional timber booths, walk-in cottages, and vendor pavilions are built so that venders from Europe can set up shop and sell everything from "German holiday delicacies and chocolates such as the famous Nürnberger Lebkuchen [ginger bread cookies] or the Christmas Stollen [fruit cake] to original German holiday ornaments, from artistic glass, pewter and straw decorations to wooden toys and nutcrackers, from cuckoo clocks to beer steins, from delicate lace products and hand-knit sweaters to candles, jewelry and music" - (Source - http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-deutschland.de/weihnachtsmarkt-chicago.html)

Christmas Around the World - Starting on November 24 the Museum of Science and Industry has a display of over fifty Christmas trees decorated in the Christmas styles of Puerto Rico, Poland, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy and other countries.

Zoolights Festival - No one brings the Christmas spirit to children better than the Lincoln Park Zoo. Beginning in November they adorn the zoo with gigantic animal sculptures that illuminate the night with beautiful arrays of light, putting ear to ear smiles on any child who sees the display, and reminding you what the Christmas spirit is all about. Who knew that spirit could be encapsulated in a giant red giraffe?

Magnificent Mile Lights Festival - The event begins with a tree lighting festival similar to that at Rockefellar Center in New York City. But instead of one large tree, all the trees along Michigan Ave are lit up. This marks the official beginning of the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival.

Every day is something different during the festival. One day you will find Disney characters performing live on a specially made stage. Another will show that Main Street has been turned into a magical winter walk complete with carolers, cider stands, and many holiday festivities.

The main event involves a parade of Disney characters in extravagant floats as Mickey himself lights one million white lights from Oak Street to Wacker Drive. One of the biggest fireworks shows you will ever witness marks the end of the festivities, leaving Christmas morning to look forward to.

Sources:

http://www.chicagotraveler.com
(Accessed February 18, 2004)

http://www.chicago-travel-services.com/
(Accessed February 18, 2004)

http://www.lonelyplanet.com
(Accessed February 18, 2004)