(Courtesy of Riot Fest)
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The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners approved a special event permit for Riot Fest on Wednesday, a decision that did little to bridge the divide between residents of Lawndale who welcome the fest and those who want to oust it from Douglass Park.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer and the official end of the Chicago Park District’s outdoor swim season.

A still from a promotional video for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race. (Courtesy of NASCAR)

The NASCAR Chicago Street Race will return to the city next summer for the third year in a row. The Chicago Street Race Weekend will take place July 5-6, 2025.

The entrance to the McCormick Bird Sanctuary. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The nine-acre garden was built on top of an underground parking garage.

Jimmy Eat World at Riot Fest 2016. ( COVERT NINE / Flickr)

After a dramatic announcement two months ago that Riot Fest would be relocating to suburban Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium, the music festival has pulled an about-face and will be returning to Douglass Park Sept. 20-22, pending Park District approval, the Chicago Park District announced Wednesday.

Bureau of Forestry crews responding to one of nearly 6,000 tree emergency requests recorded by 311 following severe storms July 14-15. (Courtesy of Department of Streets and Sanitation)

Chicago’s trees bore the brunt of damage caused by back-to-back storms July 14-15, which spawned a total of five tornadoes in the city.

One of the Flights of the Butterflies sculptures, at River Park in the Lincoln Square community. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Butterfly sculptures have landed at nearly 20 parks across Chicago as part of the ongoing Flight of the Butterflies exhibit that kicked off this spring.

Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park, May 2024. The festival will return to Chicago’s lakefront for at least the next five years. (Sueños Music Festival)
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The Chicago Park District board approved the deal Wednesday, along with an option to extend the contract another five years.

Myetie Hamilton, second from left, confers with Rosa Escareno, Park District CEO and general superintendent, at a board meeting in June 2023. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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On Monday, the Chicago Park District announced that Myetie Hamilton, president of the district’s board of commissioners since February 2022, will step down from the role following Wednesday’s board meeting.

(Pexels / Pixabay)

All of the Chicago Park District’s 77 outdoor and indoor pools are expected to be open six days a week from June 17 through Sept. 2. Beaches are also open.

(Courtesy of Riot Fest)
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Riot Fest has announced it’s leaving its longtime home in Chicago’s Douglass Park and is setting up RiotLand in Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium for the 2024 event, set for Sept. 20-22.

(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Chicago Park District also received nearly $1.5 million to conduct an inventory. Morton Arboretum's Chicago Region Trees Initiative is administering the grants on behalf of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

(Mary Taylor / Pexels)
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Rosa Escareño, Chicago Park District general superintendent and CEO, announced an $8 million investment in broadband infrastructure that will provide free, public internet service at 60 of the city’s parks on the South and West sides.

Left: Native-born Imani at Montrose Beach, April 2023. (Courtesy of Matthew Dolkart) Right: A piping plover egg – a product of piping plover pair Imani and Searocket – recently spotted at Montrose Beach. (Courtesy of Chicago Park District)

The egg is the product of a recent pair bond between native-born Imani, who hatched at Montrose Beach in 2021, and Searocket, one of the 5-week-old captive-reared piping plover chicks released at the beach last year.

The Chicago lakefront is pictured in a July 2022 file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Beaches in Chicago will open Friday at 11 a.m. for the 2024 season – just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Here is everything you need to know to enjoy those Chicago summer days. 

Cherry blossoms in Jackson Park in 2021. (Courtesy of Chicago Park District)

The Cherry Blossom trees in Jackson Park won’t reach peak bloom this year, the Chicago Park District said.