Historic homes, art fairs, cover bands and water lanterns usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

In what is clearly a case of pure happenstance, two autobiographical solo shows about mental illness recently arrived on Chicago stages. A look at “Certain Woman of an Age” and “The Mushroom Cure.”

Illinois’ child welfare agency is so intent on keeping children with their parents even when they have strong evidence of abuse that it has sometimes left those children in grave danger, a study released Wednesday found.

How did fights over high hats and hoopskirts shape Chicago’s downtown as a shopping destination? We talk with the author of a new book about women and consumer culture at the turn of the century.

The Block Museum show “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time” showcases the splendor and influence of medieval West and North Africa. We tour the exhibition with a special guest from the Smithsonian.

Tim Conway, the stellar second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, has died, according to his publicist. He was 85.

At a time of Jim Crow laws, how did a black man compete to become the fastest athlete of his time? A new book by Michael Kranish tells the story a trailblazing cyclist and his connection to Chicago. 

A number of extraordinary pianists have played on the Symphony Center stage during the past season or two. Sunday’s concert brought four encores, extended standing ovations and volcanic applause.

“Empire” will return for its final season this fall on Fox — with Jussie Smollett a question mark — and should count itself lucky.  Fox is hitting the reset button for the 2019-20 season by cancelling eight shows and adding 10 new ones.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Doris Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. She was 97. 

“Chicago Tonight” has won three prestigious Lisagor awards for the best in Chicago journalism, for the best in arts, education and government news.

A concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featuring the transcendent Mitsuko Uchida. A visit by Maestro Riccardo Muti and several master musicians to a juvenile detention center. And a virtuosic chamber concert.

More than 100 people gathered Friday along a chain-link fence outside a badly damaged Illinois silicone factory to remember four men who died in an explosion at the facility.

The Nation of Islam leader who was recently banned from Facebook spoke Thursday in a wide-ranging sermon that hit upon some of the anti-Semitic and black nationalist themes he has come to be known for.

How to raise children to be successful adults? That’s the million-dollar question for every parent. A new book by Joy Thomas Moore has some suggestions.

Elephants, uranium and the oddest wedding you’ve ever seen: A new book takes readers inside the unusual world of the University of Chicago scavenger hunt.