![\"Printers](\"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Printers-Row-Lit-Fest.jpeg\")
<\/a>Printers Row Lit Fest<\/strong>\n<\/strong>June 6-7th in Printers Row<\/em><\/p>\n
The Printers Row Lit Fest was founded in 1985 to attract visitors to the Printers Row neighborhood, and it\u2019s continued to grow each year since then. Nowadays, this one stretches across five city blocks (on Dearborn, from Congress to Polk), attracting more than 200 booksellers from across the country displaying new, used and antiquarian books and featuring more than 200 authors participating in panels, discussions and a variety of other programs. The fest also draws over 150,000 book-lovers each year. You can get tickets\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Midsommarfest<\/a>, now entering its 50th<\/sup>\u00a0year, attracts 50,000 people annually. What will you find here? Cutting-edge bands and ethnic dance troops across a plethora of themed stages (you\u2019ll need to check out the Party like it\u2019s 1965 stage). Don\u2019t think they forgot about all of the other things that make fests like this awesome though. You can also find kid\u2019s entertainment, delicious food, retail vendors, and dancing galore. And if you think you have what it takes, you can always shoot for the title of\u00a0Miss Andersonville<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This one<\/a>\u00a0has been featured on the Food Network, USA Today, and ranked as the #1 food fest by Chicago Reader the past three years, so let\u2019s just say it\u2019s pretty serious. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be thoroughly surprising anyone when I say this one is clearly based around ribs, but there\u2019s a lot more to it. There\u2019s a band lineup, kid\u2019s square, and a huge amateur rib-eating contest called Ribmania. Beer lovers can buy a VIP pass to skip the beer lines too!<\/p>\n Interestingly enough, they use the same color scheme as we do, but I personally believe we pull off the whole orange and black thing better.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019re into EDM, or (for our elder readers) electronic dance music,\u00a0this<\/a>\u00a0is about as good as it gets. People now come from across the globe to attend this festival that began in 2012, and there has even been talk of expanding it to other states because of its popularity. Some absolutely\u00a0huge<\/em>\u00a0acts are headlining the fest: Zedd, Hardwell, Tiesto, Afrojack, Skrillex & Diplo, and Eric Pyrdz to name a few. For the first time, this year\u2019s show will be 18+ instead of all ages, so plan accordingly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019re just not into the whole dance music thing, don\u2019t fret.\u00a0Chicago 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 ranks number one out of our musical fests 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 Located at Buckingham Fountain in historic Grant Park,\u00a0Chicago Ale Fest<\/a>\u00a0features more then 200 beers from over 100 American craft breweries. The fest will also feature live music and food from some of Chicago\u2019s favorite restaurants. Some of the highlight breweries include Allagash, Breckenridge, Brooklyn, Deschutes, Dogfish Head, and Founders. Of course local breweries like Goose Island, Berghoff, Vice, and Two Brothers will be making an appearance as well. You can view the\u00a0full brewer list here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hate waiting to eat and\u00a0this one\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0all about food, so let\u2019s dig right into it. The food includes Belly Q, La Luce, Nicholas Quality Meats, and Nonna\u2019s. Personally, I\u2019m a huge fan of pizza, and Nonna\u2019s offers some ridiculously huge (and of course, delicious) slices. The music is all about indie rock, and there\u2019s plenty to go around. There are a bunch of musical acts headlined by Dinosaur Jr, the Dandy Warhols, and Best Coast Lettuce. There\u2019s also a band by the name of the Nasty Snacks. I don\u2019t know really know anything about them, but their name makes me chuckle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Who likes country? (I do!)<\/p>\n This year\u2019s three-day country fest features some of the hottest acts around: Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, and Brad Paisley. That isn\u2019t it though. (You can check out the full schedule\u00a0here<\/a>.) If you haven\u2019t been to the venue, it\u2019s worth checking out. It has the best city views of any other music scene in Chicago. You should also know that single-day passes are not available, so be prepared to attend all three days to get your money\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Green Music Fest<\/a>\u00a0is all about promoting an eco-friendly environment, with eco-conscious breweries and a broad assortment of vendors showcasing green products and services. The coolest part has to be the south stage, which is powered by seven stationary bicycles. It\u2019s up to the crowd to continue to power these so that everyone can hear the music! Acts include Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, The Wailers, and Dinosaur Jr. The fest takes place in the heart of Wicker Park, at the intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee.\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\u00a0here<\/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\u00a0the Pride\u00a0site<\/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\u00a0Grant Park<\/a>\u00a0offers 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\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are plenty of things to celebrate when it comes to summer in Chicago, and this month it clearly shows. Music, food, dancing, and cultural celebrations\u2014June’s got…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2279,"featured_media":1059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[755],"tags":[431,435,401,452,352,399,451,390,450,449,433,434,430,400,370,432],"class_list":["post-1400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-category-things-to-do","tag-andersonville-midsommarfest","tag-chicago-ale-fest","tag-chicago-blues-fest","tag-chicago-pride-festival-parade","tag-chicago-summerdance","tag-festivals","tag-fests","tag-green-music-fest","tag-june","tag-june-festivals","tag-lakeshake-festival","tag-printers-row-lit-fest","tag-ribfest","tag-spring-awakening","tag-summer","tag-taste-of-randolph"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Andersonville Midsommarfest<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 12-14<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>in Andersonville<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Ribfest<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 12-14<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>at Lincoln \/ Irving Park \/ Damen<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Spring Awakening<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 12-14<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0at Soldier Field<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Blues Fest<\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/strong>June 12-14<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0at Grant Park<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Ale Fest<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 19-20<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>at Grant Park<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Taste of Randolph<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 19-21<\/em>st<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>at 900 W Randolph Street<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>LakeShake Festival<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 19-21<\/em>st<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0at FirstMerit Bank Pavillion<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Green Music Fest<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 20-21<\/em>st<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0in Wicker Park<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago Pride Festival & Parade<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Festival: June 21, 22<\/em>nd<\/sup><\/em>
\n<\/sup><\/em>Parade: June 29<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>Chicago SummerDance<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>June 26 thru September 13<\/em>th<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n