HotSpot Pick: Top 5 Chicago Festivals in June 2017

Things are heating up in Chicago. If you’re looking for some fun things to do to get your summer in gear, you’re in luck. Check out our top 5 June fun-fests.

Chicago Blues Festival

If you want to feel blue (in a good way), you’ll have three days to do just that at the largest free blues concert in the world. It’s all happening at Millennium Park in the Loop, June 9-11 from 11am to 9:30pm. Here’s a look at the line up:

June 9 – The iconic Billy Branch & The Son of Blues headline the first show. Special guests include:

• Lurrie Bell
• Freddie Dixon
• J.W.S Williams
• Carlos Johnson
• Carl Weathersby
• Bill McFarland and Chicago Fire Horns
• Mae Koen & The Lights.

June 10 – Original “soul man”, William Bell takes the stage with Theo Huff and the New Agenda Band and Nellie Tiger Ravia.

June 11- The festival wraps up on Sunday with the legendary Gary Clark Jr., Rhiannon Giddens and Ronnie Baker Brooks.

Admission and parking are free. Or, you can secure a covered parking spot right below the music for $35. Find out more about the festival and parking at the City of Chicago website.

Printer’s Row Lit Fest

Get in between the covers with your favorite authors!

If you’re a bookworm, you’re not going to want to miss this noteworthy event. It’s the largest gathering of book lovers in the Midwest.

The 33rd annual Printer’s Row Lit Fest takes place June 10-11 around Congress and Dearborn in the South Loop. Over 200 authors and speakers will be hosting talks, workshops, panel discussions, readings, cooking demos, children’s programming, poetry readings and slams.

The literary celeb line-up includes: NBA champ and best-selling author, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Emmy award winner and chef, Rick Bayless, columnist Amy Dickinson (who replaced Ann Landers), and many more.

Tickets are free but are first come, first serve. You’ll find more information on exact locations, vendors and guest speakers on the Printer’s Row Lit Fest website.

Gold Coast Art Fair in Grant Park

Come hang at the art fair. Guaranteed to be a picture perfect event, the 60th Annual Gold Coast Art Fair in Grant Park will grace Butler Field on June 17 & 18th from 10am – 6pm.

More than 300 artists from all over the world will display and sell their creations while you enjoy the food, music and beer.

Check out the interactive art projects. Give you own artistic talent a whirl on the Spin Art machine. You can even catch demos from your favorite artists.

Admission is free. To brush up on details about the artists and for more information about the fest, visit the Gold Coast Art Fair website.

Taste of Randolph Street

This delicious fest is a foodie and music lover’s dream come true. June 16-18 the Taste of Randolph Street hits the road down in the West Loop to pair up local food with two stages of music.

Over 18 restaurants will share their tasty morsels and culinary talents, including:

• Won Fun
• Belly Q
• Siena Tavern
• Alhambra Palace
• Nando’s
• La Sardine

The top-notch music line-up will also showcase: Dawes, Moon Taxi, and Emancipator Ensemble with feature acts by Eden, Here Come the Mummies, Son Little, Head for the Hills, Robert DeLong, Slow Magic, Sole Monde, Organ Freeman, Naughty Professor and more.

Although tickets to the event are free, there is a suggested donation which benefits the West Loop Community Organization. You can also purchase VIP passes (single or 3-day) which get you tons of perks.

The event will be at 900-1200 W. Randolph Street. Find out more about tickets, music and the food at Taste of Randolph by Star Events.

Snubfest Chicago Comedy Festival

Laugh till it hurts at the Snubfest Chicago Comedy Festival.  From June 21-24, you can catch side-splitting entertainment ranging from stand-up, sketch comedy, storytelling and solo performances.

The event showcases comedians who have been overlooked and flat-out rejected in the past, making these hidden gems even more hilarious.

• Wednesday, 6/21 — 8pm @ Zanies (Stand-up)
• Friday, 6/23– 7:30pm @ Under the Gun (Storytelling)
• Friday, 6/23– 9pm @ Under the Gun (Sketch)
• Saturday, 6/24– 9pm @ Under the Gun (Best of the Fest)

Zanies is located at 1548 N. Wells St. and Under the Gun is at 956 W Newport (2nd floor). Admission varies.

Check out the Snubfest Chicago Comedy Festival webpage to get all the details.

Get it While It’s Hot

Celebrating summer is a breeze in Chicago, a hotspot for tons of fun festivals. Be sure to check back to find out about cool July festivals in the Windy City.