Things to Do in Chicago with Kids — Family Events & Weekend Planner

358 family events from official Chicago library, park, and museum calendars, plus 1495 kid-friendly spots and ready-made weekend plans.

FamHop tracks 1495 kid-friendly spots and 358 upcoming family events across 26 Chicago cities and towns. Most events come straight from official library, parks, and museum calendars like Schaumburg Township District Library Events, Forest Preserves of Cook County Events, Downers Grove Public Library Events — real dates, times, and official links, refreshed every week. Biggest coverage: Chicago (1363 spots · 211 events), Schaumburg (0 spots · 194 events), Elk Grove Village (1 spots · 110 events). Pick a few stops, build a 3-stop weekend plan, and share a link so co-parents and friends can vote.

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This weekend in Chicago

Updated for the weekend of August 15–16.

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Annual traditions in Chicago

  • Chicago Urban League Back To School Festival — August, James Compton Center. The Chicago Urban League's annual Back To School Festival at the James Compton Center in Bronzeville: free food, games, school supplies, and community resources to help families get ready for the school year.
  • All Seasons Orchard Apple Picking — August, All Seasons Orchard. An orchard in Woodstock where families pick their own among 16,000 apple trees, with Honeycrisp picking as the headliner. The season opens in late August and runs to the start of November, alongside more than 30 barnyard attractions including a petting zoo, pony rides, corn maze, ropes course, mini zip line, sunflower trail, apple cannon, and apple train. Pumpkin picking, apple cider donuts, fresh cider, and caramel apples make it a repeat fall trip.
  • Kuipers Family Farm Apple Picking — August, Kuipers Family Farm. A u-pick apple orchard in Maple Park growing over 45 apple varieties, where each paid admission includes a quarter-peck bag to fill. The picking season runs from late August through the start of November, overlapping the farm's Sunflower Festival and Pumpkin FunFarm. Farmview Railway train rides, the Farmhouse Kitchen, and the Orchard Shop & Bakery keep the rest of the family busy.
  • Goebbert's Farm Fall Festival — August, Goebbert's Farm & Garden Center. Goebbert's Farm on Reinking Road in Pingree Grove opens its Fall Fest in late August and runs it through Halloween with more than 50 attractions on the grounds. Scenic wagon rides carry visitors out to the pumpkin patch to pick their own, and the farm adds a carousel, train rides, slides, animal encounters, and its pumpkin-eating dinosaur show.
  • Bud Billiken Parade — August, King Drive to Washington Park. The nation's largest African American parade, held on Chicago's South Side every August since 1929 and second in size only to the Rose Parade. Marching bands, drill teams, and floats roll down King Drive to sound the call for back-to-school, then the whole crowd moves into Washington Park for a festival of music, food, and family resources.
  • Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm Fall Fest — September, Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm. Bengtson's has run a fall festival and pumpkin patch on West 151st Street in Homer Glen since 1981. One admission covers unlimited rides, including the Barnstormer wave swinger, egg drop, flying frogs, rooster rodeo, and rockin' rabbits, plus hayrides, train rides, a petting zoo, a corn box, gemstone mining, pig racing, and live music from the See Through Band. The farm also has a large pumpkin patch and a haunted barn.
  • ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo — December, Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagoland's favorite holiday tradition: more than three million lights, a Ferris wheel, a light tunnel, Santa visits, and caroling at Lincoln Park Zoo from late November through early January.
  • Christkindlmarket Chicago — December, Daley Plaza. Chicago's German-style holiday market at Daley Plaza since 1996: dozens of red-and-white vendor booths with ornaments, gifts, pretzels, and warm treats, open daily from mid-November through late December.
  • Fiesta del Sol — July, Cermak Road, Pilsen. The largest free Latino festival in the country, filling a mile of Cermak Road in Pilsen with live entertainment, food, carnival rides, and a dedicated children's area every summer for over 50 years.
  • Chinatown Summer Fair — July, Wentworth Avenue. Chinatown's signature street fair: a lion dance procession, kung fu demonstrations, restaurant samplings, cultural performances, and a children's area along Wentworth Avenue.
  • Chicago Gospel Music Festival — July, Millennium Park. A free weekend of national gospel headliners and local choirs at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park — family-friendly and one of the city's longest-running free music festivals.

Recurring & returning programs in Chicago

  • Palatine Hometown Fest Family Day — Community Park, last held July 2026. Family Day at Palatine's Hometown Fest in Community Park — carnival rides, food vendors, live entertainment, and kids' activities during the village's July 4th-weekend festival.
  • Bluey Bash — Central Library, last held July 2026. A Bluey-themed library party for preschoolers and their families — games, crafts, dance-alongs, and character fun built around the beloved show.
  • Legendary Late Hours at the Field Museum — Field Museum, last held July 2026. The Field Museum's after-hours evening series: explore SUE the T. rex and the exhibition halls after the daytime crowds leave, with special programming for families and fans.
  • Legendary Late Hours at the Field Museum — Field Museum, last held July 2026. The Field Museum's late-night evening program — exhibits open after hours with live music and special programming.
  • Play Picnic and Party — Elk Grove Village Public Library, last held July 2026. A recurring family program at Elk Grove Village Public Library in suburban Chicago, combining play and a party atmosphere for kids.
  • Wonderful World of Elk Grove Village Scavenger Hunt — Elk Grove Village Public Library, last held July 2026. Wonderful World of Elk Grove Village Scavenger Hunt — a recurring family program at Elk Grove Village Public Library in Elk Grove Village.
  • Wee Wonders: Pollinators — Sand Ridge Nature Center, last held July 2026. Wee Wonders: Pollinators — a recurring family program at Sand Ridge Nature Center in Chicago.
  • Autism Movement Therapy — Schaumburg Township District Library, last held July 2026. Autism Movement Therapy — a recurring family program at Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg.
  • Bluey & Stitch Meet and Greet — Elk Grove Village Public Library, last held July 2026. Bluey & Stitch Meet and Greet — a recurring family program at Elk Grove Village Public Library in Elk Grove Village.
  • Nature Wellness Walk — River Trail Nature Center, last held July 2026. Nature Wellness Walk — a recurring family program at River Trail Nature Center in Chicago.
  • Wheaton Independence Day Fireworks — Graf Park, last held July 2026. Wheaton Independence Day Fireworks — a annual family program at Graf Park in Wheaton.