The Ultimate Summertime Chi Festival Guide

Chicago’s summer festival season is here! But with multiple events every weekend, planning your lineup can be overwhelming.

That’s why we’ve got this curated list of the fests we can’t miss, the best fest bites, and some music fest lineups we’re watching.

The City Cast Chicago podcast team picked their No. 1 must-visit fest of the season and laid out the rest of their summer itinerary.

Host Jacoby Cochran

🎉 Can’t-Miss Fest: Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash June 14-16 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview

❓Why: The performers. Mick Jenkins is performing a 10th anniversary set for his mixtape “The Waters,” and Chief Keef is performing in the Chicagoland area for the first time in over a decade.

☀️ The Rest of Summer: For nostalgia, the African/Caribbean International Festival of Life July 4-7 in Hyde Park. For something new, Eeeeeatscon July 13-14 at Salt Shed.

Executive Producer Simone Alicea

🎉 Can’t-Miss Fest: Pride Fest June 22-23 in Northalsted

❓Why: The joy. Plus, the lineup offers big names throughout the day from JoJo Siwa and Bob the Drag Queen in the afternoon to Natasha Bedingfield and Amber Riley in the late evening.

☀️ The Rest of Summer: For the hype, Jeff Fest July 12-14 in Jefferson Park. For a fest with a twist, Throwback Music Fest Sep. 6-8 in Norwood Park. For the food, World Dumpling Fest Sep. 21 in Logan Square.

Producer Michelle Navarro

🎉 Can’t-Miss Fest: Fiesta del Sol July 25-28 in Pilsen

❓Why: The history. The first fest celebrated the community’s successful efforts to pressure the Chicago Board of Education into building what is now Benito Juarez High School.

☀️ The Rest of Summer: Pack your fests into one weekend. In addition to Fiesta del Sol, Wicker Park Fest and the Chinatown Summer Fair take place the last weekend in July.

If you wanted, you could plan your entire summer just around Chicago’s food festivals. Here are some of the food-focused fests that we’re saving room for.

For Eating Your Fill…

Make sure you leave room for the weekend of July 19-21 when you can catch both Tacos y Tamales in Pilsen and the Roscoe Village Burger Fest.

For Exploring Chi’s Neighborhoods …

The Taste of Chicago will once again run pop-ups in Rogers Park in June, Marquette Park in July, and Pullman Park in August before the September fest in Grant Park. You can also catch the Taste of River North July 19-21, Taste of Polonia in Jefferson Park Aug. 30-Sep. 2, and Taste of Greektown Sep. 6-8.

For Some Brews …

Ravenswood will hold two different beer-focused fests: Catch the Malt Row Beer Stroll on June 26 and Ravenswood on Tap July 20-21. Lincoln Park will also hold Craft Beer Fest July 5-7.

In addition to the plethora of neighborhood festivals in the city, Chicago is home to two of the biggest music festivals in the country: Pitchfork (July 19-20 at Union Park) and Lollapalooza (Aug. 1-4 at Grant Park).

Here are some other fests we talked about during festival week on City Cast Chicago.

June

July

August

September

All Summer