THIS WEEKEND IN CHICAGO – Summer in Full Swing!

As we all know, Chicago’s summer festival season looks different this year, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on some of your favorite fests. The city has us covered all summer long with tons of virtual festivals and socially distanced events as summer is in full swing here!

Usually, at this time of year, the city hosts the Taste of Chicago, which is the nation’s premier free-admission food festival. Since the festival will not be taking place in Grant Park this year, the city will continue to showcase the diversity of Chicago’s dining scene with Taste of Chicago – To Go through Sunday. This virtual event will also feature free cooking demonstrations with local chefs; host virtual music and dance events; offer for purchase limited-edition, official artist-designed t-shirts, and merchandise; hold a Food Truck Procession from downtown to various locations; and have an expanded Taste of Chicago “Community Eats” program supporting 25 neighborhood restaurants and food trucks to provide free meals to nonprofit organizations serving healthcare and other frontline workers! A day of family fun and amazing food awaits you!!

The CHI-Together team has prepared a fun-filled summer entertainment series with Chi-Together: Drive-in Movies & Music! Enjoy drive-in movies plus live music in a socially distant event that also gives back to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This weekend’s featured films are Grease (Saturday) and Shrek (Sunday). Your evening of fun takes place at Soldier Field (1410 S. Museum Campus Dr.) in the South Loop with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the movie beginning at 8:30 p.m. Each ticket includes a 90-minute music showcase by a locally featured musician or DJ, followed by the movie on 3 jumbo screens for up to 6 people and includes a bucket of popcorn for the group!!

This year’s FanCon is a three-day, all-digital extravaganza celebrating all things comics and pop culture from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. This all-ages event features crafts and drawing workshops at Fandom Crafts, a scavenger hunt, trivia, video game competitions with YouTuber Tamara Lynn Chambers, panel discussions, a virtual game lounge and much more!

For those choosing safety first, here are a few ideas for fun things to do at home, both inside and outdoors:

Try a New Recipe: Dig into that stack of cookbooks or browse Best Dinner Recipes, and experiment with cooking. Hopefully, your family will appreciate a new recipe!

BBQ in the Backyard: Casual dinners at home should include build-your-own burgers and other Best Grilling Recipes for all you grill masters out there!

Put Together a Jigsaw Puzzle: Getting bored with playing games? Consider Best Jigsaw Puzzles for a more time-consuming activity and turn it into a family competition by assembling more than one puzzle to see who completes theirs first!!

Sue Moss and Dean’s Team Chicago