FEATURED EVENTS

Celebrate the mighty oak at Oak-tober at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center in Willow Springs! Head outdoors for a refreshing autumn hike celebrating Oak Awareness Month and enjoy some time surrounded by nature during the colorful fall season. This free event takes place Sunday, October 25, at 10:30 a.m., offering a fun opportunity to get outside and appreciate one of the forest's most iconic trees.

Explore one of the largest architecture and urban festivals in the world as Open House Chicago (OHC) returns to celebrate 16 years of architecture, culture and community. This free public festival offers behind-the-scenes access to more than 200 sites, including many that are not normally open to the public. Be sure to take photos as you explore for a chance to win the OHC Photo Competition.

Get ready for a bewitching movie night at Gallagher Way with Toyota Movie Nights: Hocus Pocus on October 21! Settle in for an outdoor screening of the Halloween favorite Hocus Pocus, and make the evening even sweeter with the movie’s specialty drink, the Sanderson Sisters’ Spell—a cozy combination of hot chocolate, toasted marshmallow, whipped cream, and sprinkles available for purchase at the drink pods. Grown-ups can add Bacardi spiced rum to turn it into a cocktail, making this a fun fall night for families to enjoy a little movie magic—and a deliciously festive treat—under the stars.

Join us for a fun-filled Community Halloween Celebration! This family-friendly event is designed to bring everyone together for an evening of costumes, games, music, and candy, and festive activities for the entire family. For more information, please call the park or register online. Halloween in the Park is presented by Mars.

Kids in grades K – 4 will participate in nature play and fun learning activities involving plants, art, and science. These camps will be held outside; please dress for the weather. Theme: Thankful for Nature.

Kids can dress up in their Halloween costumes, visit the Trick or Treat stations throughout the park and receive some treats. Trick or Treat is from 11 am – 3 pm.

Celebrate the spooky season with trick-or-treating throughout the Pier while wearing your favorite costumes. Enjoy sweet treats, free workshops, live performances, festive frights and family-friendly fun on the most spirited night of the season.

Children ages 0mo - 6yrs are invited to join us for our annual spooktacular and cutest costume party! Enjoy a special live concert by Miss Mel at 10:30am, spooky crafts, open play, a monster mash dance party, a costume parade, light refreshments, and more. Advance registration required. Up to 2 adults may accompany each registered child. Free parking available in the 1308 parking lot guest spots and free street parking on Potomac Ave, Elston Ave, and Magnolia Ave

oin us for a prairie seed collecting workday and learn about history of remnant prairie. Ages 8 & up. Ages 15 & under w/ adult. Registration is required.

Explore the wonders of the night sky with Chicago Park’s premier astronomy event series. Join the Chicago Astronomer for guided stargazing sessions using professional-grade telescopes, perfect for beginners and enthusiasts alike. Each event features educational presentations on celestial phenomena visible that evening, hands-on telescope instruction, and breathtaking views of planets, stars, and deep-space objects. Our special events combine astronomy education with the thrill of discovery, creating unforgettable experiences under the stars. Weather permitting, all ages welcome. Discover the universe from Chicago!

Join us for the annual Fall Festival at North Park Village Nature Center. This festival has taken place for over 30 years! Enjoy a fall walk along the trails, build your own scarecrow, create children’s arts and crafts, and more! It's unbe-leaf-ably fun! 10am-2pm on Saturday October 17th. No registration necessary. Go green by taking the CTA to the Nature Center: Pulaski (#53 bus) to Ardmore, or Peterson (# 84 bus) to Pulaski. If arriving by car, please park at the Peterson Park Gymnastics Center, Peterson Park Field House or on Central Park Avenue. Note: No parking at designated NPV Apartments lots. Free candy provided by Mars

Chicago’s free and family-friendly fall celebration returns to Lincoln Park Zoo with a full slate of harvest-time fun! From picking the perfect pumpkin and toasting s’mores over a fire pit to rides and entertainers, this festival offers something new and different each weekend in late September and throughout October. While you stroll through seasonally decorated gardens bursting with fall color, you’ll be able to enjoy free musical entertainment, professional pumpkin carvers, a pumpkin patch, and fall-themed enrichment for zoo animals. You can also enjoy ticketed attractions around the zoo.

Join us under the stars for a free screening of "Hocus Pocus". Bring snacks, blankets, or lawn chairs and enjoy a night of family fun. The movie will start at dusk. Hosted by Athletic Park Advisory Council. For more information, visit www.athleticfieldpark.com

Celebrate Halloween with an afternoon of playful fall fun at Pumpkin Party at Gallagher Way on Saturday, October 24! From 1–5 p.m., families can enjoy a strolling magician, face painters, balloon artists, stilt walkers, crafts with KidCreate Studio, cute photo ops, and pumpkin giveaways from Nichols Farm. The Dreamtree Shakers from the Old Town School of Folk Music will provide live music, adding a lively soundtrack to this annual celebration packed with entertainment for all ages.

Get ready for seven levels of Halloween fun at Trick-or-Treat at 900 at Chicago’s 900 North Michigan Shops! On Sunday, October 25, from noon to 3 p.m., little ghouls and goblins can kick off the festivities with a Halloween sing-along led by Bubbles Academy and a costume parade before heading off to trick-or-treat throughout the shopping center. Along the way, families can enjoy Halloween cookie decorating at Sur La Table, sensory activities and spooky playtime with Bubbles Academy, live music from New Music School, and festive refreshments. Tickets are $5 per child, with free admission for children ages 3 and under and parents, and all ticket sales benefit Make-A-Wish Illinois.

Get ready for a Halloween celebration that's more fun than frightening at the Not So Scary Halloween Party at Bronzeville Children's Museum in Chicago! On Saturday, October 31, from 1–3 p.m., families can enjoy a festive afternoon filled with creative Halloween arts and crafts, a costume parade, a Halloween film, spooky storytelling, and more. It's a fun opportunity for little ghosts and goblins to show off their costumes, get crafty, and celebrate Halloween without too many scares! Admission is $10 per person.

Wear your costume while walking through our autumn woods while finding hidden (nut-free) treats. Free, but registration is required.

Enjoy refreshments while exploring the museum’s exhibits after hours, including the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven, and meet some special guest birds of prey and some of our resident live animals up close! Sip a special Nature Museum-themed brew: Golden Chin Pale Ale made by Pig Minds Brewing while you explore your creative side at Nature Night Out! Whether you come with friends or make new ones, it’s a fun way to unwind and tap into your creativity. Northern Illinois Raptor Rehab will bring along some special guest birds of prey for guests to see and learn more about. Guests who come in costume will be entered into a raffle for a nature museum gift basket! Guests in nature themed costumes get TWO entries! As a special bonus, the first 50 guests will receive a branded Nature Night Out pint glass. We hope you'll join us for an engaging evening of nature, creativity, and community.

Kids in grades K – 4 will participate in nature play and fun learning activities involving plants, art, and science. These camps will be held outside; please dress for the weather. Theme: Festive Fall.

Presented by Friends of Lakeview this is a can’t-miss fall event! Join local businesses on Southport for trick or treating and an evening of spooky fun! Event includes arts + crafts, games, live DJ, inflatables, beer + wine, a pumpkin patch, and of course, candy! Event is rain or shine! See you there!

Come learn about some of the most insidious fungi that infect or manipulate diverse hosts in fascinating, mind-bending ways! While many fungi are beneficial, this session will highlight murderous mushrooms as an enhancement to the Field's Underground MISadventure: Zombie Fungus experience. See why fungi are way more fascinating, complex, and diverse than you thought!

DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2 is that rare sequel that’s a worthy successor to the original! When Hiccup and Toothless discover a secret ice cave with wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider, they find themselves in an epic battle to save the future of man and dragons! How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Concert features this spectacular sequel presented in HD with composer John Powell’s thrilling score performed live to picture by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an awe-inspiring experience for the whole family.

Lincoln Park Zoo shines brighter than ever during ZooLights, when more than 3 million lights and hundreds of nostalgic LED displays transform the zoo into a glowing holiday wonderland! Stroll through a twinkling light tunnel, catch the narrated South Lawn Light Show, ride the Ferris wheel for sparkling views and the Chicago skyline, or warm up with hot cocoa, churros, and s’mores around a fire pit. Families can also hunt for hidden ornaments in the ZooLights Scavenger Hunt, take a spin on the Endangered Species Carousel, visit Santa through December 23, and enjoy seasonal characters, strolling carolers, and live ice carving on select nights. ZooLights runs November 20 through January 3, 2027, from 4:30–9 p.m., with admission free on most Mondays with a required reservation.

Chicago children and their families will BECOME the parade when they don their costumes and join the procession down tree-lined Russell Drive. Dance teams, musicians, acrobats, sports mascots and other spectacles will dazzle them as they make their way down the route – and the first 5,000 kids will receive a complimentary candy bag and other goodies at the closing arches! Don’t miss your chance to join the fun!

Curious about bugs and excited for the Halloween Season? Introducing "INCREDIBLE INSECTS": an interactive walk-through exhibit at The Butterfly House @navypierchicago ONLY for the month of October! This exhibit features all sorts of AMAZING bugs from all over the world, including giant spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, stick bugs, giant beetles, and more!! Get a closer look at the astounding adaptations of each species in terrariums throughout the garden.

Dare to walk an eerily enchanting path, aglow with artist-carved pumpkins for Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns—featuring glowing tributes to Chicago sports teams, plant monsters, famous vampires, pets in Halloween costumes, and fan favorites from ten seasons of ghostly gourds. Among them, 75 giants tip the scales at 150 pounds each. Watch live carving in action, meet costumed characters, and enjoy playful frights around every corner. With five extra nights to explore and light bites available for purchase, it’s a spirited evening of family-friendly fun—just creepy enough to keep you on your toes.

This family-friendly event is packed with seasonal excitement for all ages! Enjoy a FREE pumpkin (one per person while supplies last), meet adorable animals at the petting farm, and take a spin on pony rides. Kids can get creative with arts and crafts, fill their bags with treats at our Trunk or Treat, and brave the thrills of our spooky Haunted House. Costumes are encouraged The event is co-sponsored by Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez and the Dvorak Park Advisory Council. Halloween in the Park is presented by Mars.

Trick or Treat at the Zoo! Get ready for a fang-tastic time at BOO! at the Zoo, Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s family-friendly Halloween celebration. This event is packed with not-so-scary thrills, festive decorations, and plenty of fun for all ages. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Halloween with the whole family — don't miss the fun! Best of all? Boo! is FREE with Zoo admission or membership!

Get ready for an evening of spectacular music at Chicago’s beautiful Holy Name Cathedral when internationally acclaimed organist Adam Brakel fills the cathedral with music on Tuesday, October 20, at 7 p.m.! Hailed as an “absolute organ prodigy” by National Public Radio, Brakel has dazzled audiences around the world with his extraordinary talent, bringing music to life on the cathedral’s magnificent pipe organ, an instrument with more than 5,500 pipes! Families don’t need to know anything about classical music to appreciate the excitement of hearing such a remarkable instrument fill the cathedral with sound. From delicate melodies to thrilling, room-filling music, this concert offers a wonderful opportunity for kids and grown-ups to discover just how amazing a live musical performance can be. Free parking is available in the cathedral’s garage at 14 W. Superior Street.