Chicago Weekend: Axios Chicago staff picks
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Chery Corley and Lucy Smith. Photo; Courtesy of Bill Healy.
Summer is winding down. Yes, we're sorry to break that news.
- But we're making sure you make the most of it with these suggestions.
Carrie's picks:
🎶 Galewood is one of those cool neighborhoods I don't visit enough, with cool architecture and residents with deep roots. Galewoodstock Music Festival could be a good opportunity to explore it more. | W. Bloomingdale and N. Sayre | Free | Saturday, noon
🕺🏻 Dancing to soul music at the Hideout brings back so many wonderful memories of when I was young and cool (ha!) I can tap back into that joy this weekend at Heart of Chicago Soul Club's dance party. | The Hideout | $20 | Saturday, 8pm
🐶 Any event where we can bring our pup, Zuzu, is on my radar. Next week, The Talbott and LAUREL will donate 50% of all proceeds from its Dogs on Delaware menu to PAWS. No martini for Zuzu, though. | Monday - Friday
Justin's picks:
🇺🇸 NPR's Cheryl Corley was one of my earliest mentors. I learned a lot about radio when we worked together at WBEZ. This weekend, she's performing spoken word alongside Chicago jazz great Lucy Smith in "America: Songs and Stories of Protest and Freedom" to truly honor America's 250th. | Clarendon Community Center Park | Free | Saturday, 5pm
🎸 What better way to get back to my 1990s roots than to take in some 1990s indie rock shows! Superchunk is at Space on Friday and local rockers Fig Dish are reuniting at Cobra Lounge on Saturday.
🖼️ If you know me, you know I love sidewalk chalk art. So sign me up for this weekend's Chalk Howard Street 2026 when artists take over a swath of Rogers Park. You can buy a street square for yourself to unleash your inner-Michaelangelo. | East of the Howard ‘L’ stop | Free | Saturday, 11am-7pm |
Monica's picks:
🥘 I love the idea of grooving to music while helping provide meals to folks, so I'm super tempted by the Food Aid Festival in Austin where Joe Pug performs Friday ($40) followed by a free Saturday block party and ticketed ($55) performance by Shemekia Copeland. Robert's Westside in Forest Park
🎻 Thirsty Ears Festival in Ravenswood has been classing up Chicago's street fest scene with an all-classical lineup for more than a decade, with performances that range from chamber music and piano duos to a "nois quartet" and all Bach and Beethoven programs.|Wilson from Hermitage to Ravenswood | $10 suggested donation | Saturday & Sunday
🍽️ COVID didn't create a ton of great memories, but I did love the creative al fresco innovations like Dine Out On Broadway which is hosting its final weekend of the summer with more than 20 participating restaurants on Broadway from Belmont to Wellington. | Free admission | Friday to Sunday