Last year`s 4th of July celebrations were marred by a drought so severe that many fireworks displays were canceled for fear that sparks might ignite the bone-dry grass. No such problem this year, which means we`re free to enjoy the cornucopia of Independence Day events going on around town.
To help make your choices easier, we`ve selected 10 spots that are offering particularly worthy/unique/traditional events. Here, in no particular order, are some of this year`s highlights:
– Grant Park. Taste of Chicago should be in full swing this weekend, but don`t overlook the entertainment. On Saturday, the fifth annual Chicago/WFMT Folk Festival gets underway beginning at 1 p.m. with three workshop stages set up near the Petrillo Music Shell. The main concert, beginning at 6 p.m. in the music shell, features Josh White Jr., Michael Johnson, Chris Farrell, Huayucaltia and headliners Sally Rogers and Claudia Schmidt. The concert will be broadcast live on WFMT (FM 98.7) and carried on stations across the country.
Monday marks Chicago`s annual 3d of July Concert and Fireworks, which begins at 8 p.m. in the Petrillo Music Shell with a concert by the Grant Park Symphony. The works of John Philip Sousa are featured, followed by the fireworks, at dusk, accompanied by the traditional performance of
Tchaikovsky`s 1812 Overture. The concert will be broadcast live on WFMT. Fireworks start at approximately 9:15 p.m.
On Tuesday, there`s the Taste of Chicago 4th of July concert, 2 p.m. at the Petrillo Music Shell, sponsored by Old Style beer and WXRT-FM radio. The BoDeans, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Kinsey Report will perform.
– Lake Michigan. The best place to view the July 3 fireworks is from Lake Michigan-either from the shoreline or from Navy Pier. Or you can take Mercury`s Fireworks Cruise, which leaves the dock (alongside the Michigan Avenue bridge, on the south bank of the Chicago River) at 9 p.m. and anchors in the lake to give passengers a great view of the fireworks, returning at 11 p.m.
Tickets for the cruise, $15, go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday at the Mercury box office. Cash or travelers checks only; no phone orders. (Last year`s cruise sold out two hours after the box office opened.) 332-1366.
– Chicago Historical Society. Each year, the society sponsors an Old Fashioned Fourth Celebration, complete with patriotic music, flag waving and a patriotic oration by some political luminary. This year`s version, the biggest yet, starts at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday at Uihlein Plaza, Clark Street at North Avenue, with a concert by the Chicago ”Pops” Concert Band. There will be a juggler and free flags and balloons. Then ”the world`s tallest Uncle Sam”
(he`s wearing stilts) will lead a children`s parade-kids are encouraged to bring horns and drums and dress in patriotic costume, and prizes will be awarded for best costumes. Father George Clements will give the invocation, and Sen. Paul Simon will deliver the patriotic address. After the ceremonies, the society`s museum will be open to the public, where two new exhibits-”
Celebrate Chicago” and ”Just Plain Hardworking”-are on display. 642-4600.
– Evanston. The Evanston Fourth of July Association sponsors this town`s annual celebration, now in its 68th year. The association, a non-profit group, funds the event solely through individual contributions; apart from police and fire protection, no city resources are used. It begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday with Playground Sports-family events like sack races, egg tosses, penny scrambles and watermelon-eating contests-that run until noon at Lincolnwood School (2600 Colfax St.), Robert Crown Center (1701 Main St.) and Willard School (2700 Hurd St.); and from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Fleetwood-Jourdain Center (1655 Foster Ave.). The annual parade steps off at 2 p.m. from Central Street and Central Park Avenue, continuing east on Central Street and ending at Northwestern University`s Dyche Stadium (Central Street and Ashland Avenue). More than 100 entries will participate, including 13 marching bands, among them such perennial offbeat favorites as the All-Amerikan Marching Drum and Bugle Corpse and the North End Bunco Parcheesi and Weight Dropping Auxiliary.
The evening program on the Evanston lakefront begins at 7:30 p.m. with a concert of popular and classical music by the Palatine Concert Band. At dusk there will be a fireworks display over the lake.
– Oak Forest. The second annual Oakfest, which raises funds for community organizations, continues through Tuesday at 159th Street and Long Avenue in Oak Forest. There are a carnival with rides and attractions, food vendors and entertainment ranging from local acts to such national names as Johnny Rivers, Juice Newton, Del Shannon and the Coasters. And once again, the thoroughbred racing pigs will race for Oreo cookies. Tuesday evening`s fireworks display is called the largest in the south suburbs. Admission $5 (under 15 free with parent). Hours are 6-11 p.m. Friday, 1-11 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday. 687-7878.
– Elmwood Park. Taste of Elmwood Park begins Friday and continues through Tuesday in Village Circle, Conti Parkway (near 75th and Grand Avenues). More than 30 food vendors offer a wide variety of food, the Buckinghams (performing at 8 p.m. Friday) lead the list of entertainers, and there are carnival games, kiddie rides and more. Gates open at 4 p.m. daily; 10 a.m. Tuesday. Admission $1; under 12, free. For more information, call 452-INFO.
– Union. Who says celebrations of Americana have to focus on colonial times? Seven Acres Antique Village Museum, at U.S. Hwy. 20 and South Union Road (exit Int. Hwy. 90 at Marengo exit and go west on U.S. Hwy. 20 for 4 1/2 miles), Union, is putting on a Wild West Weekend featuring cowboys, saloon girls, gunfights and more.
Actually, the Wild West weekend, which takes place Saturday and Sunday only, is an expanded version of the show, set in a painstakingly re-created western town, that Seven Acres features all summer. But this weekend the gunfights will be bigger, there will be free pony rides for kids, a quick-draw competition for adults (real guns, fake bullets), free gold-panning at the Sweet Phyllis Gold Mine (it`s pyrite, but kids can keep what they find), other games, a country-western band and Cactus Jack and Deadwood Jake, a ventriloquist act. An outdoor barbecue will sell brats and burgers. Seven Acres is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; admission is $5.50 adults, $2.50 ages 6-12, free for 5 and under. 815-923-2214.
– Arlington Heights. Saturday marks the grand reopening of Arlington International Racecourse, capping this facility`s remarkable comeback from the devastating July, 1985, fire that destroyed the grandstand. Now rebuilt, resodded and ready to go, Arlington reopens with a four-day celebration featuring bands, clowns and jugglers, mimes, a Dixieland band and of course, a full slate of racing (nine live races, starting at 1:30 p.m., each day, plus a 10th, simulcast from Belmont Park in New York, on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday).
Saturday is the official opening day (although the park has been open, to limited crowds, since Thursday). The Grand Opening ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m. with a formal dedication of the new building; visitors will be welcomed by a group of trumpeters and will receive special commemorative pins marking the occasion. Sunday, the Midlothian Scottish Bagpipers perform before the races. Monday there will be a special appearance by John Henry and the Bart, the two horses that provided the stirring photo finish to the very first Arlington Million race in 1981 (John Henry won, later becoming the only horse to win two Arlington Millions). A bronze sculpture, depicting both horses, will be unveiled. There will be a big band performing in the paddock area, an oldies band, Johnny and the Meteors, performing in the park area, and the first 15,000 patrons will receive a commemorative poster of the two horses.
July 4th will mark Arlington`s strongest race day, highlighted by the $100,000 Stars & Stripes Handicap, a major prep race leading to next September`s Arlington Million. There also will be performances by the Rolling Meadows High School Band and the Jesse White Tumblers.
After the last race (about 6:15 p.m.), the park will close, reopening at 7 p.m. for a free family entertainment show beginning with a Jukebox Saturday Night Dance Party, as well as clowns and other entertainment. And at 9 p.m., more or less, a multimedia extravaganza, featuring fireworks, laser lights and music, will begin. The show lasts about 40 minutes.
– Hoffman Estates. Since 1981, Poplar Creek music theater has hosted a free concert and fireworks show. (Actually, Hoffman Estates provides the show; Poplar Creek donates the venue.) This year`s show begins Tuesday with an 8 p.m. popular music concert by the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, culminating with Tchaikovsky`s 1812 Overture, which kicks off into the fireworks. Admission is free; parking is $3.
– Downers Grove. Downers Grove`s July 4 celebration begins with its annual parade, which steps off at 1 p.m. from Main Street and Warren Avenue and heads north on Main to Downers Grove North High School (just south of Ogden Avenue). But the real draw is the fireworks show, sponsored by the pooled resources of Downers Grove, Woodridge, Westmont and Darien ($17,500 total). The 40-minute show begins around 9 p.m. at the Village Green Golf Course in Woodridge; there are plenty of viewing spots along 75th Street west of Lemont Road.
