Event Ideas

#3 Theater, Dance & Music Event (up from #6)
The nation’s biggest comedy festival features stand-up comedy, sketch shows, and films in major venues throughout the city, including the Chicago Theatre. The talent includes comedy’s biggest names: this year, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher, and Russell Brand headlined. A major change to the 2013 iteration was the new Digital Comedy Hub at Stage 773. Next: Summer 2014

#11 Theater, Dance & Music Event
The Chicago Dancing Festival started as a one-day affair and now offers several days of free programming in various venues. This year’s event placed emphasis on local dance companies and featured performances of diverse styles ranging from ballet to classical Indian. Next: August 18-23, 2014

#5 Festival
Held over Labor Day weekend, the Chicago Jazz Festival is a 35-year-old tradition. For the first time this year, the event relocated from Grant Park—which, some guests complained, had subpar acoustics—and set up shop in Millennium Park. The 2013 fest also had Friday-afternoon concerts, which had not been offered since 1997, plus a full day of Thursday programming at the Chicago Cultural Center. Estimated attendance was 125,000. Next: August 29-31, 2014

#10 Festival
The largest annual outdoor dancing series in the United States is held in Grant Park’s Spirit of Music Garden, offering free dance classes in styles ranging from tango to Irish folk. Chicago SummerDance sees some 1,200 participants gather at each session; at the conclusion of the classes, live bands take the stage and guests test out new moves on the alfresco dance floor. Next: Summer 2014

The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, held in a remote township in northeastern Taiwan, culminates with the simultaneous release of more than a thousand sky lanterns in early February. Every year thousands write their wishes for the new year on lanterns before launching them into the night air. Traditionally, sky lanterns are made of oiled paper or tissue with a wire frame containing a small candle that causes the lantern to float up, then return to the ground when it burns out.