It was raining when Marriott's Great America opened in Gurnee on May 29, 1976.

• About 12,000 people showed up anyway — greeted by marching bands, Bugs Bunny voice actor Mel Blanc, and $1 parking.

The big picture: The Marriott hotel chain built the park, as the Chicago Tribune wrote at the time, because 27 million Midwesterners lived within reach and lacked a major theme park nearby.

The latest: Six Flags Great America celebrates its 50th birthday this weekend.

What they said: "It was built because Americans have demonstrated an affection for the sort of theme park pioneered by Walt Disney and because 27 million of them live in an area that had no theme park before," Tribune reporter Robert Cross wrote in 1976.

• "Rising travel costs have made Disneyland and Disney World harder for a lot of people to reach."

State of play: Six Flags took over ownership of Great America in 1984.

What to expect: Tomorrow's party is the first in a series of anniversary events planned for this summer and features party hats, a reunion performance by the Four of a Kind quartet, who performed on the opening day, and fireworks to close out the night.

• The celebration begins at 11am, and fireworks kick off at 9:30pm.

Zoom in: Events this summer include a new nighttime stage show and parade, a drone show, and nostalgic concessions.

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🎧 HeadRoom

• For music lovers who want to skip the crowded dance floor (at least for now), this slowed-down listening experience in a vintage showroom is the ticket.
• DJs include Blesstonio, Jesse De La Peña and DJ Mochi.
• 7pm Friday-Sunday at Spot! inside Design 329 in Pilsen.

🎭 Jagged Little Pill

• Inspired by Alanis Morissette's music, the Tony- and Grammy-winning musical takes on mental health, addiction, and family dynamics.
• Friday through June 7 at The Lodge Performing Arts Center in Elgin.

📷 The Saturday Man: At the Edge of the Game

• Prepare for next month's World Cup with images from legendary soccer photographer Peter Robinson.
• Saturday through Aug. 9 at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn.

Need a new (or returning) show? We have you covered with five picks available to stream this weekend.

"Star City" — series premiere available Friday on Apple TV+.

• As "For All Mankind" reaches its fifth-season finale, this spinoff retells the flipped space-race story from the Soviet side.

"Spider-Noir" — series premiere available now on Prime Video.

• Nicolas Cage leads this live-action Marvel noir as an aging private investigator/web-slinger in 1930s New York.
• Between the lines: Viewers can choose whether to watch in color or black and white.

"Deli Boys" — Season 2 is available on Hulu.

• The crime comedy returns with the Dar brothers, who inherited their late father's criminal empire, working with a casino king played by Fred Armisen.

"Rafa" — docuseries available Friday on Netflix.

• This four-part series offers a close-up look at tennis great Rafael Nadal's career. It includes interviews with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe.
• Driving the news: The show arrives during the French Open, a year after Roland-Garros honored Nadal in Paris for his record 14 French Open men's singles titles.

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