Chicago Festivals, Events & Entertainment Cancelled, Postponed & Closed due to Coronavirus

Photo Credit: Urban Matter

2021 Rescheduled Festivals & Season Performances

• Lollapalooza (Instead of a live music festival, there will be a virtual livestream event the weekend of July 30-Aug. 2, with the full schedule to come.)

• Riot Fest

• Pitchfork 

• Taste of Chicago

• Chicago SummerDance

• Chicago Jazz Festival in Millennium Park

• The Chicago Air and Water Show at North Avenue Beach

• Grant Park Music Festival 

• Taste of Randolph

• Windy City Smokeout 

• Logan Square Arts Festival

• Kuma's Fest 

• Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival 

• Old Town Art Fair 

• West Fest Chicago

• Logan Square Arts Festival

• Silver Room Sound System Block Party 

• Chicago Brewing District's Dancing in the Streets 

•  Andersonville’s Midsommarfest

•  Do Division Street Fest

• The majority of programming at the Chicago Riverwalk, the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park

• ACTIVATE: various dates June-September

• Ribfest (Naperville/Romeoville)

2020 Postponed & TBD Events

• Chicago Pride Parade

• Chicago Pride Fest 

• Navy Pier fireworks

• Wicker Park Fest

• Chicago Food Truck Festival

• Fiesta Del Sol

• Jeff Fest

• Greek Fest

• Taste Of Lincoln Avenue

• Square Roots Festival - postponed to Aug. 28-30

• June 19–20 — postponed until Sept. 18-19

• Millennium Art Festival: June 26–28 — postponed to Sept. 18-20

Suspended Theatre Performances

• Lyric Opera of Chicago

• Broadway production

• Goodman Theatre

• Steppenwolf Theatre

• See the full list of postponed theatre productions here.

Chicago Theatres Shut Down Permanently:

• Chicago’s iO Theater (1501 N. Kingsbury St)

According to Chicago Tribune, Chicago’s iO Theater will shut down, owner Charna Halpern has told the Tribune, and the theater building at 1501 N. Kingsbury St. will be put up for sale. Halpern said she has no official closing date yet, but like all Chicago theaters, iO has been closed since late March by the pandemic.

The reasons for the closing are financial, Halpern said. She and the theater recently were charged with racism via a petition posted on change.org; the petition made a series of demands for changes in ownership and practices at the theater. Halpern said those events were not the deciding factor. She instead pointed to looming property taxes bills of close to $100,000 that would have had to come out of her personal savings.

• Chicago Mercury Theatre

According to the Chicago Suntimes, The Mercury Theater Chicago, long a fixture at its North Southport Avenue location, will be closing permanently at the end of the month, it was announced Tuesday. Executive director L. Walter Stearns and partner/business manager Eugene Dizon cited extreme loss of revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo Credit: Block Club Chicago

What’s Open in Chicago Summer 2020?

Drive-in Movie Theatre:

• The Drive In at Lincoln Yards

According to Block Club Chicago, beginning June 25, the drive-in will show films around 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday evenings. The first film of the series will be “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” to be shown June 25-28. The next film will be “Blues Brothers,” to be shown July 2-5. Audio will be transmitted through cars’ AM radios. Tickets are $35 per car and will be sold online prior to each showing and checked through each car’s closed window upon entry.

• ChiTown Movies

Located at 2342 S. Throop St. “Star Wars: A New Hope” will be shown 8:50 and 11:50 p.m. daily through Monday. The film’s audio will be played through cars’ FM radios. Tickets start at $33 per car for five adults. Additional adults will be charged $5. You can buy tickets online. Customers can buy food and drinks, which will be delivered to cars.