Andre Castro is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this Saturday in Chicago. He’s used to street racing and skyline views, but stock cars will be a new one for him.

Baseball, fireworks and “Star Wars” usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

The 17-year-old Bedard is considered a generational talent among NHL scouts, boasting an elite skill set and hockey IQ.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ commissioned an artist to capture the game from a player’s perspective. But the artist, an Englishman, didn’t know much about baseball. So Happ introduced his new friend to his workplace.

Simone Biles has taken most of the last two years off following her eventful stay in Japan in 2021, where her decision to remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health shifted the focus from the games to the overall wellness of the athletes.

Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller said additional patrols will be added downtown, on CTA trains and buses and near Navy Pier, which will host a fireworks show at 9 p.m. Saturday.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, says since profits from events go to the Chicago Park District’s general operations fund, the financial gains from Riot Fest don’t help his constituents directly. He has proposed a 2% community benefits tax.

An exhibit in DuPage County is paying tribute to the late, great pop artist Andy Warhol with the aim of providing deeper context for the famed cultural figure.

Maestro Riccardo Muti chose Beethoven’s “Missa solemnis” as the work he wished to conduct to mark “the official end” of his glorious 13-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has been named music director emeritus for life and will continue to lead occasional CSO performances.

Maestro Riccardo Muti, who turns 82 in July, is scheduled to conduct the CSO for six weeks in each of the next two seasons. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season.

In 1973, DJ Kool Herc set two copies of James Brown’s “Sex Machine” album on the turntables at a Bronx house party and tried out his innovative technique of cutting and mixing songs at the drum breaks. Fifty years later, hip-hop has become an inextricable part of American music and culture.

What could be better on a summer night than relaxing on a patio and listening to live music? If that sounds good to you, then grab a folding chair and your dancing shoes and head out to Tack Room at Thalia Hall on Wednesday nights.

If you’re a house head, Humboldt Park Boathouse is the place to be Saturday. DJs will be spinning the sounds and styles of the dance music genre from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Chicago-based artist Edra Soto created a series of work about Puerto Rico and her migration to her adopted hometown. Architectural motifs mirror patterns seen on houses in Puerto Rico. A hand-fabricated domino table reflects a popular pastime on the island. And there are photographs embedded in the work.

Harnick was born and raised in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the Northwestern University School of Music after serving in the army during World War II.

Art Johnston and Pepe Peña, owners of the iconic gay bar Sidetrack in Northalsted, are the subjects of a new documentary. The film follows their love story — spanning 50 years — and the history of the Sidetrack bar amid the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Chicago.