Summer’s not over yet! Our 20 ways to make the most of these last days, from outdoor movies and a fireboat ride to these hidden gems to find

Summer in Chicago is a short 93 days — nobody is saying this is fair, but also nobody is saying that it’s over just yet. September may be arriving next week but the season still has more to offer, be it with an open-air concert on Northerly Island or a walk in a hidden city garden.

The critics, writers and some frequent contributors to A+E have come up with our own list of what we’d like to get outside and do before summer ends, some picks having more to do with the arts than others. All can be experienced before Sept. 22, the first day of autumn on your calendar.

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but also check back in A+E next Sunday for the first of our guides to the fall Chicago arts season. But that can wait for now.

A hidden oasis: The city is working its way back to being the busy place it was before the pandemic came and with busy comes noise. I have long been, when that noise overwhelms, drawn to a small but sedate and relatively secret piece of land that came to be in 1936. It sits at the north end of the Lincoln Park Zoo and was created by landscape architect Alfred Caldwell as an oasis of trees, limestone paths, a meandering pool, and a pair of Prairie School-style shelters. Originally called the Rookery, it began to be used for breeding birds in the 1950s and has always been a popular stopping-off place for migrating birds. By the 1990s, the area had fallen on hard, shabby times but funds were raised to help bring it back to its former splendor and original purpose, which was to provide, Caldwell said, “a cool, refreshing, clear place of trees and stone and running water.” The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. until late October with its entrance on the south side of Fullerton Parkway just west of Cannon Drive; lincolnparkconservancy.org

— Rick Kogan

Music on the Green: The big music festivals of 2022 are in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean outdoor music is done. Consider heading on out to Morgan Park for, shall we say, a more neighborly sort of concert experience. The band: The Gentlemen of Leisure, who according to their website, are “affectionately known as ‘The Gents’ (and) offer a musical smorgasbord” that includes Top 40, jazz, Motown and more. There will be food! Plus, a craft beer festival and fireworks afterward. Instead of ticket sales fattening pockets of some out-of-town music promoter, all proceeds will benefit the 19th Ward Youth & Community Foundations as well as local programs through the Special Olympics. Entrance opens at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Morgan Park Academy, 2153 W. 111th St.; $10 per person or $30 per family at 19thwardmobile.com/music-on-the-green

— Nina Metz

Movie on the terrace: Through Oct. 31, you can enjoy the city skyline and fresh air while watching a movie on the fifth-floor terrace of The Emily Hotel in the West Loop as part of the Rooftop Cinema Club at Fulton Market. The hotel offers food and drinks and attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets to watch the movie in comfort. The setup features lounge chairs and love seats, and individual wireless headphones to tune into the movie. The lineup features a mix of cult movies (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), classics (“Back to the Future”), and recent releases (“Candyman”). Screenings before 4:30 p.m. are open to all ages, while shows starting at 4:30 p.m. or later are strictly for those 18 and older. 5th Floor Terrace at The Emily Hotel, 311 N. Morgan St.; tickets are $18.75-$27.75 at rooftopcinemaclub.com

— Kayla Samoy

Chicago by fireboat: I used to be a Chicago Water Taxi punchcard regular, back in the day, and I miss that open-air experience of watching the city skyline go by from the river. With apologies to the Chicago Architecture Foundation, whose river cruises have long been one of the most popular summer tickets in town, the tour I’d most like to try before summer ends is by Chicago Fireboat Tours. They offer a historical and architectural cruise (as well as sunset cruises and booze cruises) aboard the Fred A. Busse, which was a fireboat for the Chicago Fire Department from 1937 until 1981 and is painted fire engine red, just as you’d hope. The historical tours begin from their dock in DuSable Harbor, pass through the Chicago locks and onto the Chicago River, according to their website, “navigating the same waterway where our vessel once fought fires.” Tours multiple times daily from DuSable Harbor, 111 N. Lake Shore Drive; $40 at fireboattours.com/toursandcruises

— Doug George

Vista Del Mar, wet and hot: They’re billing it as “The Last Days of Summer” programming, so the Music Box Theatre’s Garden Movies calendar for Sept. 5-8 represents a triumph of inevitable inclusion in our roster of outdoor recommendations. The garden, if you haven’t seen the wee charming outdoor space behind the Music Box’s indoor lounge, seats 40 and offers a crazy variety of movies in warm weather months, from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (an August highlight) to the forthcoming “The Birdcage” (Sept. 19-21). The “Last Days of Summer” week showcases Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo in “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” Sept. 5-6. Then it’s “Wet Hot American Summer” (Janeane Garofalo, Paul Rudd, 1981-era shorts and summer camp, endless sexual frustrations) Sept. 7-8. The beer and wine list is very good here and if the weather cooperates, this should be a fine way to kiss off summer and prepare yourself as autumn gets ready to do its wholly unpredictable Chicago thing. 7:45 p.m. Sept. 5-8, Music Box Theatre Garden Movies, 3733 N. Southport Ave.; Tickets $9; musicboxtheatre.com

— Michael Phillips

Best spot to play ball: I know, it’s gimmicky for the Tribune’s classical music critic to single out Mozart Park as a favorite summer haunt. But my love for this verdant city block has nothing to do with its namesake and everything to do with hopping off the Armitage bus on a sticky summer evening, my stepdad’s dusty old Wilson mitt tucked in my elbow, to play 16-inch softball games that never seemed long enough. (In retrospect, the doubleheaders probably felt short because our team got mercy-ruled almost every game.) Whenever I arrived early, I’d slip into the field house and haltingly fumble through whatever piece was keeping me up at night on its publicly accessible upright piano — slightly out of tune but right at home there, because it’s not called Mozart Park for the swing set. When our team fanned out for the night, back to whatever corners of the city we’d come from, I’d hang back for just a moment to catch a parting glimpse of the fireflies and passing Metra trains, both glowing the exact same unearthly green-yellow. The train’s rattle was loud, but not loud enough to drown out the cicadas and occasional pop of fireworks from around the neighborhood. No song of the summer beats it. The field house is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 2036 N. Avers Ave.

— Hannah Edgar

Concert on the lakefront: Northerly Island, beginning at the far end of Museum Campus, first was an airport. Or wait, first it was lake water, then it was a human-made stretch of land envisioned by grand city planner Daniel Burnham as a lakefront park. Completed by 1925, the proposed airport, later named Meigs Field, arrived in 1946. And then departed suddenly in 2003, when Mayor Richard M. Daley’s bulldozers tore up the runways in the middle of the night in the name of homeland security. Daley wanted it to be a park again, and so it is. An open-air music venue arrived in 2005 as Charter One Pavilion, the stage and structures all designed to be temporary, to be folded up and packed away at the end of every season in a nod to environmental friendliness. Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island now may be more permanent but it’s still a lovely environment. Concerts are booked by Live Nation and for your ticket, you get lake breezes, a sense of being on the water, and behind the stage an unparalleled view of the lit Chicago skyline in the distance. Next up are Florence + the Machine (Sept. 7) and the electronic music duo Odesza (Sept. 9-10). Just past our deadline is New Order & Pet Shop Boys (Sept. 30). 1300 S. Linn White Drive, www.livenation.com

— Doug George

A musical confession: I wish I was above this. But then, as you know, irony is dead, parody is on life support, and shame — unfortunately, shame, we are fully booked for the evening. Yacht Rock Revue is playing Ravinia on Sept. 1, and somewhere in the dozen years since this Atlanta act (via Indiana University) hit it big with a touring celebration of light AM ‘70s and ‘80s hits, songs like “Brandy,” “Baker Street,” “Africa” and “Lido Shuffle” became the soundtrack of TikTok, “Stranger Things,” Gen Z obsession and Foo Fighters shows. The performers — who evolved out of an indie band named Y-O-U, and have since literally trademarked the term “yacht rock” — keep it affectionate and largely sincere. This is no “Anchorman” satire, but a pleasant, fun argument that you can dig Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind” and still know it’s completely cheesy. Recent sets have included “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” and “Ventura Highway.” (Bet I got you humming already.) Doors at 5 p.m., show at 8 p.m. on Sept. 1 at the Ravinia Festival at 200 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park; tickets are $45-$65 pavilion, $45 lawn. ravinia.org

— Christopher Borrelli

A roll with a view: For me, summer dining doesn’t get much finer than a Popeyes’ spicy chicken sandwich, horked while walking to whatever show’s on the docket that evening. So boy, did I feel cheated when I found out about the Waterfront Café, a summer-only joint offering a genuinely good lobster roll and a show at the same time, its musical acts ranging from classical guitar to solo harp to Brazilian jazz. (Pro tip: If you’re willing to put that pinky down for a second, the brown butter crab roll is just as scrumptious and easier on the wallet.) The magic happens on a particularly bucolic stretch of lakefront, deep enough in Berger Park to make you forget you’re in the city at all. Noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday; 6219 N. Sheridan Road, waterfrontcafechicago.com

— Hannah Edgar

Last chance to celebrate a garden’s 50th: The Chicago Botanic Garden has never been more beautiful, and late summer is an ideal time to catch several of its gardens at their finest. For a limited time, you can see “Flourish: The Garden at 50,” a series of 10 striking art pieces created to celebrate the Botanic Garden’s 50th anniversary is tucked in between the blooms (and, in the case of one personal favorite, “Casa-Isla” by Edra Soto, in the pond). Be sure to stop by The Rookery, a human-sized birds’ nest made from willow branches — ideal for kids (and kids at heart). Ever-so-briefly, step indoors to glimpse Rebecca Louise Law’s gorgeous “Herbarium” of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling in the welcome center and a set of Sam Kirk murals flanking the greenhouses, too. Evening garden goers: save Aug. 29 and 31 for the trip, when you can catch live music on the Esplanade at 6 p.m. Through Sept. 25 at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe; admission is $13.95-$15.95, parking $8 at 847-835-5440 and chicagobotanic.org

— Lauren Warnecke

Attend the ARC Music Festival: After a successful first run last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this electronic-music focused festival returns to Chicago’s Union Park bigger and better than ever. I am especially excited for this year’s lineup, which includes a mix of bonafide legends (Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox) with lesser known acts. New house music fans first introduced to the genre on superstar Beyonce’s latest album, Renaissance, will want to check out Honey Dijon’s Saturday set. Dijon, a Chicago native, was a producer of two of the album’s songs. Make sure to stick around for a special set by blockbeat favorite Fatboy Slim, who has excited and delighted fans since the ‘90s and always knows how to produce a good show. Sept. 2-4 in Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St.; tickets from $139 at arcmusicfestival.com

— Britt Julious

A mobile memorial: The year 2019 marked a century since the 1919 race riot. The renewed attention on our city’s darkest chapter made an already sore point all the sorer: Save a relatively new plaque installed near the beach where teenager Eugene Williams was killed, Chicago doesn’t have a public memorial commensurate with the loss of life. The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project aims to change that. The initiative hosts historical tours of Bronzeville by bike, bus and foot for interested groups. The tours rally support for CRR19′s campaign to install memorials at the spots where 38 Chicagoans were killed, inspired by the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) memorializing Holocaust victims in formerly Nazi-occupied Europe. You’ll see that much of that history has been deliberately scrubbed away, but the project reminds us that the massacre’s specters have never really been laid to rest. On East 35th Street in Bronzeville, between State Street and Martin Luther King Drive; by appointment at chicagoraceriot.org

— Hannah Edgar

Pedal Oak Park: Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous local creations — his Home and Studio, and Unity Temple — usually get top billing in Oak Park. Interior tours of both spaces are offered on a daily basis by his namesake trust. For those wanting a broader overview of the architect’s work, as well as some fresh air and exercise, the organization also gives a two-hour guided bicycle tour that traverses some of the suburb’s historic neighborhoods and makes stops at 21 Wright-designed structures, including the Heurtley House, Cheney House and Furbeck House. The tour exclusively covers building exteriors, operates no matter the weather and, wisely, keeps groups to a maximum number of 10 participants. You can bring your own set of wheels or borrow one (included in the admission fee). Tours are 9:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays through October and begin at the Wright Home and Studio, 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park; $45 at cal.flwright.org/tours

— Bob Gendron

High season for books: Depending on who you ask, the book business is on fire, or the book business is on fire — as in, industry mergers, big-box volatility and a reliance on blockbusters threaten one of the few cultural success stories of the pandemic era. But here’s another metric of health: There are three sizable book festivals in Chicago now. Two upstarts (the American Writers Festival in spring and the Semicolon Bookstore Lit Fest this October), and the returning Printers Row Lit Fest, now in late summer, as the publishing gods (whose primary season starts now) intended. One more metric: The lineup for the 37th edition of Printers Row plays like a reminder of just how rich Chicago’s literary scene has become. It features a deep bench of panels and readings with local breakouts (Jessamine Chan, Toya Wolfe), memoirists (Erika Sanchez, Thomas Fisher), historians (Rick Perlstein), poets (Natasha Trethewey, Rogers Reeves), mainstays (Rebecca Makkai, Adam Levin) — and a few choice out-of-towners (Dan Chaon, Darryl Pinckney). Toss in a chat with the Onion staff, a Poetry Foundation tent and a reading of Natalie Moore’s play “The Billboard,” and here is a smart way to edge into autumn. Sept. 10-11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., along Dearborn Street, between Polk Street and Ida B. Wells Drive; attendance, including all events and author panels, is free. More information at printersrowlitfest.org

— Christopher Borrelli

See a show at the Salt Shed: Chicago’s newest music venue, the Salt Shed, opened earlier this summer with much fanfare. The venue, which is both indoors and outdoors, distills the best parts of the summer music festival experience into a bite-size concert featuring some of the best acts from around the globe. Since opening its doors at the former Morton Salt building, featured performers have included Angel Olsen, Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, and Jorja Smith. The rest of the summer also includes thrilling acts across multiple genres, including Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. And if you’re unable to attend a show, the venue also holds one-off events like vintage markets; saltshedchicago.com

— Britt Julious

Ode to our Jazz Festival: During the past decade, Chicago has become the nation’s capital for outdoor summer music festivals. Though the biggest — Lollapalooza — affords the most majestic backdrop, pricey tickets make it off limits to many concertgoers. Which is one reason the Chicago Jazz Festival is more than a world-class music event. Its free admission and central location make it an affair where people of many socioeconomic classes come together and showcase a diversity often absent from paid-admission fests. Nestled where the iconic Michigan Avenue street front intersects with Randolph Street’s more modern skyscrapers, the Pritzker Pavilion imparts an equally gorgeous backdrop — particularly from the sprawling lawn. This year’s stellar lineup — which includes South Side native and Pulitzer Prize-winning adventurer Henry Threadgill, tireless saxophonist-composer Miguel Zenón and burgeoning vocalist Jazzmeia Horn — guarantees splendid sounds will fill the air. Sept. 1-4, various locations; feature performances at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park; free at jazzinchicago.org

— Bob Gendron

Escape to the deep woods: If you’d like to get away to the wilderness but just don’t have the long weekend, may we suggest the southwest suburban Palos area among the many Cook County Forest Preserves. You can paddle on Bullfrog Lake, walk in the woods or get a little more adventurous on the mountain bike singletrack maintained by the CAMBr mountain biking club. Oh, and these woods will probably always just be forest preserves. Why? Way back during the the Manhattan Project, the world’s first nuclear reactor was Chicago Pile-1, built right under the original Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. Maybe not a great idea to play with atoms in the city, though, so in 1943, Chicago Pile-2 was created out here in Red Gate Woods, operating until it was dismantled and buried in trenches in the 1950s. There’s a plaque marking the site and the U.S. Department of Energy still keeps tabs on low-level radioactivity under the ground. Lovely spot, though; fpdcc.com/places/locations/camp-bullfrog-lake

— Doug George

Art on theMART: Until a few years ago, the Chicago Riverwalk wasn’t a place I’d want to commit a whole evening. But its grassy knolls and lively pop-up dining on the south bank during the summer are ideal spots for viewing the 2.5-block facade formerly known as The Merchandise Mart. Touted as the world’s largest movie screen, this public art initiative is special, in large part, for its wholesale commitment to original art — most of that by Chicago filmmakers, visual artists and dancers (read: no ads!). Whether you happen upon Art on theMART or make an event of it, now is a perfect time to go. Nightly triple features include a new film short about the history of the Bud Billiken Parade by Shkunna Stewart and Wills Glasspiegel (the latter was part of the creative team that made the popular “Footnotes” film for theMART last year). “Explore” by digital mapping expert Jonas Denzel shows hands whimsically interacting with their unique stone canvas. And at 9:30 p.m., get an extra dose of visual artist Nick Cave in a playful film complementing his terrific retrospective on now at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Free nightly at 9 p.m. through Sept. 7, best viewed from the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells and Lake Street; more information at artonthemart.com

— Lauren Warnecke

Lantern festival on the river: Anyone who went to a concert this summer in RiverEdge Park in Aurora has seen how much this place has continued to improve. There’s a stunning new pedestrian bridge over the Fox River that offers new places to park and stroll in, or the venue has always been walking distance from the Metra. The concerts are about over for the summer now (Tusk Aug. 26) but there’s one last event on the calendar, a Water Lantern Festival put on by an outside company. For your ticket, you get a light-able floating lantern you can decorate to join the flotilla, perhaps a chance to write down your troubles and watch them float away. From 4:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, Aurora; tickets from $35 at www.waterlanternfestival.com

— Doug George

The Malta near us: In early April 2020, a few tense weeks into the pandemic, my wife and I wanted an afternoon away from what was starting to feel like a familiar yet strange bubble of COVID-19 routines and uncertainty. So we put the bikes on the bike rack and, more or less randomly, drove out near Malta, Illinois, close to DeKalb, in search of two-lane roads in the middle of farmland and as little as possible. We ended up along Rich Road, near McQueen Road and the Northwest Malta United Methodist Church and thereabouts. I hope to get out there again before the summer’s over, if only to mark the time passed since the pandemic rerouted so much of our lives. It’s a beautiful, head-clearing place to go somewhere without heading anywhere in particular. Needless to say: Free.

— Michael Phillips

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