Chicago festival schedule unveiled for spring and summer 2022
CHICAGO - Chicago rolled out its spring and summer festival schedule Thursday, featuring a return to pre-pandemic levels of size and scale.
The Chicago Blues and Jazz festivals will make a return after taking a hiatus in 2021. Both festivals will last for four days at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and in Millennium Park in addition to special neighborhood events.
"It's going to feel like 2019, so we're really excited about that," said D-CASE Deputy Commissioner Nancy Villafranca-Guzman. "We don't foresee any major restrictions in how we move or mask-wearing, or vaccinations."
The popular Chicago Air and Water Show will expand to two days of aerial and nautical spectacles, lasting four hours each day, similar to pre-pandemic editions of the show.
"Chicago’s spring and summertime programming is cherished by our residents and bolsters our tourism, hospitality and creative industries," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. "I am thrilled that we can bring back our iconic music and food festivals, as well as hundreds of other events. This will help to bring a sense of normalcy back to our city and revitalize the local economies of our neighborhoods."
Festivals returning to pre-pandemic levels were buoyed by the city's declining COVID positivity rates.
The Chicago SummerDance Celebration in Millennium Park, August 2019 | Courtesy of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Over the last week, Chicago has seen daily COVID cases dip by 48%, new hospital admissions by 41% and deaths by 44%.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the city’s vaccine mandate for bar and restaurant patrons could be rescinded "quite soon" if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations keep falling as drastically as they have.
Chicago's 2022 spring and summer event schedule provided by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events:
- Maxwell Street Market (800 S. Desplaines St.): Sundays, April 3 – Dec. 18
- Chicago City Markets (citywide including Daley Plaza): May – October, Chicago
- Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony & Parade (Daley Plaza and State Street): Saturday, May 28
- Millennium Park Summer Workouts (Great Lawn): Saturdays, May 28 – Sept. 3
- Millennium Park Summer Film Series (Jay Pritzker Pavilion): Tuesdays, July 12 – Aug. 30
- Chicago Gospel Music Experience (Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park): Saturday, June 4
- Chicago Blues Festival (citywide and in Millennium Park including Jay Pritzker Pavilion): Thursday – Sunday, June 9–12
- Taste of Chicago (citywide including Grant Park): Saturdays, June 11, 18 and 25 (neighborhood Taste pop-ups) and Friday – Sunday, July 8–10 (a bite-sized Taste in Grant Park)
- Millennium Park Summer Music Series (Jay Pritzker Pavilion): Mondays & Thursdays, June 20 – Aug. 18
- Chicago SummerDance (citywide including pop-ups and special events, Night Out in the Parks events, programs at the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park — and the SummerDance Celebration in Millennium Park): select dates July 6 – Sept. 17,
- Chicago Air and Water Show (North Avenue Beach and along the Lakefront): Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20-21 at 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; practice runs on Friday, Aug. 19
- Year of Chicago Dance Showcase (Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park): Saturday, August 27,
- Chicago Jazz Festival (citywide and in Millennium Park including Jay Pritzker Pavilion): Thursday – Sunday, Sept. 1–4,
- Chicago House Music Experience (Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park): Friday, Sept. 16 — plus ancillary community events and more, dates TBA,
- SummerDance Celebration (Jay Pritzker Pavilion and throughout Millennium Park): Saturday, Sept. 17
- World Music Festival Chicago (citywide): Friday, Sept. 30 – Oct. 9