Things to do in Chicago today

For classical music lovers who enjoy taking in a show set beneath Chicago's skyline, the annual Grant Park Music Festival is perennial favorite summer event. This year's series of classical concerts runs from June 15–August 20 with performances ranging from world premiere works and performances of symphonies by Mozart, Haydn and Shostakovich to an evening of classic Broadway arrangements and the annual Independence Day salute. Take a look at the complete schedule of events below and find more information on the Grant Park Music Festival website: June 15: Mozart Symphony No. 35June 17, 18: Mendelssohn Reformation SymphonyJune 22: Schubert Unfinished SymphonyJune 24, 25: Shostakovich Symphony No. 11June 29, July 1: Britten Spring SymphonyJuly 2: Independence Day SaluteJuly 6: Cirque Goes to HollywoodJuly 8, 9: Lights on BroadwayJuly 13: Haydn Drum Roll SymphonyJuly 15, 16: Beethoven Eroica SymphonyJuly 20: Dvorak Symphony No. 8July 22, 23: Rachmaniov Piano Concerto No. 2July 27: A Gospel JubileeJuly 29, 30: Mahler Symphony No. 9 Aug 3: A Mariachi FiestaAug 4: 60th Anniversary Choral Spectacular Aug 5, 6: Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique Aug 10: Franck Symphony in D MinorAug 12, 13: Tetzlaff Plays ShostakovichAug 17: Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty Aug 19: Haydn Creation

From June through September this year, dozens of movies will screen in parks all over Chicago as part of the city's annual Movies in the Parks program. From recent blockbusters like Encanto and Sing 2 to classics like The Princess Bride and Space Jam, you're sure to find good something to watch (for free!) beneath the stars this summer. Screenings typically begin at 8:30pm each evening. Take a look at the full list of movies and participating parks.

Projecting a 25-story-tall video installation on the side of the Merchandise Mart, Art on theMart's summer program includes Ba Boom Boom Pa Pop Pop—an original video work by hometown artist Nick Cave featuring his iconic Soundsuits—as well as Billiken, which celebrates Chicago's annual Bud Billiken Parade depicting video and animated footage of the parade's youth dance groups and marching bands.  Art on theMART's array of 34 digital projectors display the programs at 9pm every evening. The show is best viewed from the section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells Street and Franklin Street.

The Art Institute of Chicago has teamed up with London's Tate Modern to mount the first major retrospective of Paul Cezanne's work in more than 25 years, exploring the post-Impressionist painter's legacy across a variety of mediums and genres. Visitors can explore some of Cezanne's most enduringly iconic works—including his lush still life paintings and landscapes—as well as rarely-seen compositions pulled from private collections, encompassing a total of 90 oil paintings, 40 watercolors and drawings and two complete sketchbooks. You'll need an additional ticket to gain access to the exhibit, but you'll rarely find such a comprehensive perspective on this seminal artist's life and work. 

Head to North Center to dig into more than 50,000 pounds of ribs and BBQ across the streets of Lincoln, Damen and Irving Park. The annual celebration of saucy pork brings together more than 30 vendors, lounges where you can sit down to eat and live music to keep you entertained while you're digesting your second rack of ribs.

Want to see recreations of Van Gogh's “Starry Night,” Da Vinci's “Mona Lisa” and Michaelangelo's “David”  constructed with Lego bricks? The Museum of Science and Industry's latest exhibition collects the work of Nathan Sawaya, a former lawyer who turned his passion for tiny plastic bricks into contemporary art. “The Art of the Brick” include more than 100 of his creations, include a 20-foot-long T.rex skeleton and a life-sized sculpture of a man pulling his chest apart. The traveling show is the first major museum exhibition to use Lego bricks as its sole medium—and a testiment to the creativity that can be achieved with hundreds of thousands of tiny pieces of plastic. This Museum of Science and Industry exhibit rquires a seperate ticket for entry, in addition to regular museum admission.

Filling a notable void in the Chicago summer festival calendar, Ruido Fest is one of the only large-scale events in the city that champions the diverse sounds of Latin American pop, electro and rock en español. The fest is returning to Union Park this August and features performances from singer-songwriter Cuco, Argentine ska group Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and genre-defining West Coast hip-hop trio Cyprus Hill. 

See eight towering sculptures by South African artist Daniel Popper at the Morton Arboretum's new outdoor exhibition, which spreads the 15- to 26-foot-tall works throughout the natural area. Made of glass-reinforced concrete, wood, fiberglass and steel, the one-of-a-kind pieces in "Human+Nature" depict human figures that evoke the natural landscape they're set amid, including a pair of 36-foot-long hands reaching out from a grove of oak trees and a maternal figure that springs up amid magnolia trees. Access to "Human+Nature" is included as part of timed-entry admission to the Morton Arboretum, and there's a map that will allow you to easily plan your visit and spot all eight  sculptures along the way.

The Museum of Contemporary Art hosts the first career-spanning retrospective of Chicago artist Nick Cave's work at Forothermore, a comprehensive dive into Cave's acclaimed body of visual art alongside his roles as an activist and community builder. Dedicated to those who exist as the "other" (whether through racism, homophobia or other modes of discrimination), Forothermore spans everything from installations and sculpture to fashion, performance and video work, with never-before-seen highlights like a continuation of Cave's lauded Soundsuits series.