![\"Sweetwater](\"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Sweetwater-Sessions.jpg\")
<\/a>Sweetwater Sessions with JJ & Dre, Walsher Clemons, Draft Week, and Captain Coopersmith\n<\/strong>May 15th<\/sup> at 8:00 pm<\/em><\/p>\n
Sponsored by Sweetwater Brewing Company<\/a>, this one takes place at Reggie\u2019s Rock Club<\/a> in the South Loop. Free music is always a plus, especially when it comes with samples of beer. Check in beforehand here<\/a> to take advantage of the free offer. You\u2019ll also be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a free VIP Trip for two to 420 Fest 2016!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The name says it all. This event is comprised of groundbreaking science mixed with all the beer you can handle. Pint of Science all began with two London scientists who allowed people to come into their labs for a meet and greet. If people liked coming to the scientists, why not bring the scientists to them on their own turf? This event takes place over a period of three days at three different bars. Each bar holds a different themed discussion each day, so identify what interests you most and make the trip! You can see the events and get tickets here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After the winter we had here, I\u2019m sure most of you are ready for a fun-filled, sunny day at the beach (I know I am). Be aware that the water will still be pretty cold towards the beginning of beach season, but don\u2019t let that stop you from laying out, playing beach volleyball, building sand castles, or taking a walk. Beach rules and more info available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Side note: This one is a favorite here at ChicagoGenie, so if you happen to see any genie-looking beings floating around your beach this summer, come say hi!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mayfest is a festival that celebrates German heritage over a three-day period and offers food, beer, live music, entertainment, and dancing!\u00a0The first day offers an event I\u2019d personally love to attend, the traditional keg tapping. Ah, to relive the ol\u2019 college days\u2026 Anyway, the fest is huge and features live music and entertainment throughout all days of the event. You can even see maypole dancing and other traditional German performances. Click here<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Downtown Sound is Millennium Park\u2019s<\/a> popular Monday & Thursday night music series. The music tends to lean towards the more eclectic, progressive rock genre, but this year they\u2019re expanding to include more modern electronic and world music artists as well. It all takes place at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, the main stage for Lollapalooza<\/a>. If nothing else, this is a great excuse to go to Millennium Park, an area that even most Chicagoans don\u2019t get to visit enough. And like I said before, it doesn\u2019t get much better than free music! Here<\/a> are the details.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Full Moon Jams take place on (you guessed it) nights of the full moon. This event is incredibly unique and noteworthy because you get to witness actual fire dancers performing to live music. These acts are executed brilliantly using staffs, hula-hoops, fans, and poi. It\u2019s completely run by volunteers, and you can even perform as a fire spinner if you want to (after you go through safety training of course). All spectators are welcome, but the organizers ask that you refrain from using flash-photography, as this could mess up the performance. Full Moon Jams are located at south of Foster Ave Beach, at approximately 5100N & Lake Shore Drive, 60640. Find more info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chicago Blues Fest<\/a>\u00a0takes place over the same three-day period as Spring Awakening, and it\u2019s one of the most fun events out there. This year\u2019s headliner is Buddy Guy, and there\u2019s sure to be a tribute or two to the late B.B. King, who passed away recently. This fest also ranked as number one out of our musical fests for June<\/a> because not only is it extremely entertaining, it\u2019s free.<\/p>\n Not to mention it\u2019s located at\u00a0Grant Park<\/a>. Who doesn\u2019t love Grant Park?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is by far the largest event for Chicago\u2019s vibrant LGBT community. The festival isn\u2019t quite as popular as the parade, but with its substantial offering of events, performances, parties, barbeques, and markets\u2014it\u2019s definitely worth checking out. You can view the entire calendar here<\/a>. The parade itself has developed over time to become one of the most well known Pride events in the world. It has come to symbolize the freedom of all people to meaningfully and proudly express their identities. If you\u2019re looking for a less crowded area to watch the parade, Broadway between Montrose Ave. and Sheridan Road is the way to go. Here\u2019s the link to the Pride site<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are you great at dancing? Good, this is for you.<\/p>\n Do you regularly crush the feet of innocent bystanders when you attempt to dance? Good (kind of), this is for you too!<\/p>\n Located at the Spirit of Music Garden, this open-air dance floor in Grant Park<\/a> offers free admission and 44 live bands playing music Friday-Sunday. Here you\u2019ll find swing, waltz, cha-cha, you name it. The best part? Dance lessons each day before the actual live dancing starts! You don\u2019t even have to dance if you don\u2019t want to though. Just head over and enjoy the music. More info here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Taste is one of the most popular events in Chicago, period. After all, who doesn\u2019t like walking around and eating things? There are always some exotic dishes to try, (and naturally I try them all), but the overlooked feature of the event is always the free music. This year\u2019s headliners are Weezer, Spoon, Erykah Badu, the Chieftains, and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. One band you don\u2019t want to overlook, American English, a freakin\u2019 awesome Beatles cover band that will be there on Sunday. Here\u2019s<\/a> the link for this one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Air & Water show is comprised of some of the best pilots the military has to offer. These aviators take to the skies from acrobatic shows, free falls, marine & airy rescues, etc. Parts of the show can be seen from pretty much everywhere in the Loop, but the event itself takes place on North Avenue Beach<\/a>. This is easily one of the most popular free events in the city, so if you\u2019re coming to see the Air & Water show, make sure you have all of your plans for parking, hotels, and everything else set out well in advance. Check it out<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We talked about Downtown Sound, and that\u2019s a big one, but there are way<\/em> more events to check out at Millennium Park this summer. The Lurie Garden has ongoing programs for all ages, Millennium Park presents begins at the end of May, there are group workout sessions from June-September, The Chicago Jazz Festival, and way way<\/em> more. You can check them all out on this upcoming events page<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shedd Aquarium: Adler Planetarium<\/a> Museum of Science & Industry The Art Institute<\/a> is free to Illinois residents every Thursday from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. And don\u2019t forget that Lincoln Park Zoo<\/a> is free every single day of the year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s be honest, it doesn\u2019t get much better than free. We figured it couldn\u2019t hurt to give you a few more reasons to get out this summer, so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2279,"featured_media":1046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,755],"tags":[268,354,355,352,353,351,192,356,358,350,360,359,349,357],"class_list":["post-1042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-category-popular","category-category-things-to-do","tag-adler-planetarium","tag-air-and-water-show","tag-beaches","tag-chicago-summerdance","tag-downtown-sound","tag-full-moon-jams","tag-mayfest","tag-millennium-park-events","tag-museum-free-days","tag-pint-of-science","tag-pride-festival","tag-pride-parade","tag-sweetwater-sessions","tag-taste-of-chicago"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Pint of Science
\n<\/strong>May 18-20th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago\u2019s Beaches
\n<\/strong>May 22- September 7th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Mayfest
\n<\/strong>May 28<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>-31<\/em>st<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>in Lincoln Square<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Downtown Sound
\n<\/strong>June 1 thru July 23rd<\/sup> (Mondays & Thursdays at 6:30 pm)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Full Moon Jams
\n<\/strong>June 2, July 1st<\/sup> & 30th<\/sup>, August 31st<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Blues Fest<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 12-14th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>at Grant Park<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Pride Festival & Parade
\n<\/strong>Festival: June 21, 22nd
\n<\/sup><\/em>Parade: June 29th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago SummerDance
\n<\/strong>June 26 thru September 13th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Taste of Chicago
\n<\/strong>July 8-12th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Air and Water Show
\n<\/strong>August 15-16th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Millennium Park Events
\n<\/strong>Now \u2013 September 16th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Museum Free Days
\n<\/strong>These actually go on all year long, so don\u2019t think they\u2019re just limited to the summer months. Here are the days at the respective museums:<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/em>June 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16<\/p>\n
\nJune 3-5, 10-12<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMay 21
\n<\/em>June 1-5, 8
\n<\/em>September 8-11, 14-18, 21-25, 28-30<\/em><\/p>\n