Yes, Chicago, there are Fourth of July events that don’t involve earth-shaking explosions and neck-craning. But what’s the fun of that? For traditionalists and silence-lovers, here are fireworks and alternatives-to-fireworks:
– Four words: Navy Pier fireworks. And “boom!” 10:15 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday off Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave. Free. 312-595-7437.
– Time your foxtrot steps to the fireworks (plus a live orchestra) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Navy Pier’s East End. Dance lessons at 6 p.m. “Dancing Under the Stars” is every Tuesday through Aug. 29. Free. 312-595-5100.
– Watch fireworks from the Hancock Observatory, 875 N. Michigan Ave. 888-875-8439. Admission: $6-$8.75.
– The annual Suparossa Lisle Eyes to the Skies Balloon Festival frowns upon excessive helium inhalation, so stick with watching the floating Oogy the Dragon and Bacardi Strawberry Daquiri devices — plus fireworks, bluesman Coco Montoya and the British Lawn Mower Racers Association. It’s at noon Saturday through Tuesday at the Lisle Community Park, Highway 53 and Short Street, Lisle. Admission: $7 (free for children). 630-575-9798.
– Fortunately for country singer-fiddler Charlie Daniels, Great Lakes isn’t Georgia and the devil doesn’t come much to these parts. Daniels (6 p.m. Tuesday) and fellow dinosaurs Marshall Tucker (3:30 p.m. Tuesday) and the Doobie Brothers (6:30 p.m. Monday) headline Great Lakes’ two-day 4th of July Festival, Naval Training Center, off Sheridan Road near North Chicago. Free. 847-688-2110 ext. 484.
– Which of these events is not like the other? The Chicago Pops Concert Band, 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, featuring a children’s parade and the world’s tallest Uncle Sam; “The Beatles: Now and Then,” noon Tuesday; and “Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died at Vietnam and Indochina,” also noon Tuesday. Figure it out at the Chicago Historical Society, 1601 N. Clark St. Free. 312-642-4600.
– What’s more American than the Jets and Sharks knife-fighting in the alley? (Musically speaking, of course.) In addition to Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” the Grant Park Orchestra performs selections from “The King and I,” “The Typewriter” and many others at 7:30 p.m. Monday during its Independence Eve program in Grant Park. (Listen for the “1812 Overture,” because after that is when you should look to the skies for the annual choreographed fireworks display.) Free. 312-742-7639.
– What’s more American than toiletries? Tommy Hilfiger’s fragrance-and-cosmetics outlet sponsors “Tommy’s American 8K” race, beginning at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at Cannon Drive, north of Fullerton Avenue. Registration: $20 (at Marshall Field), $22 day of race. 773-404-2281.
– 3-D fireworks? That’s Skokie’s claim during its daylong celebration: noon, parade begins at Oakton Community College (Skokie Campus, 7701 Lincoln Ave.) and ends at Oakton Park (Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard); 5 p.m., picnic and children’s concert featuring Joel Frankel at Niles West High School, Oakton Street and Edens Expressway; 7 p.m., concert at Niles West featuring ’70s tunes; and at dusk at Niles West, 3-D fireworks (glasses will be distributed to the first 10,000 visitors; gates open at 5 p.m.). Free. 847-674-1500, ext. 0.
– What’s more Fourth of July than a parade? Here’s another one, in Evanston: 2 p.m. Tuesday down Central Street (fireworks at 9 p.m.). Free. 847-328-6758.
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