10 Things You Don’t Want To Miss In Chicago: September 23
Featuring a roundup of this past week's articles.
Happy Friday Chicago!
Secret Chicago wants to help you make the most of your free time and keep you informed! We’ll be putting out “Don’t miss” and “ICYMI” plans and news for you each week, so you’ll always catch an incredible event or story. Here are some of them that you may have missed over the last week.
1. There’s a new $6 billion mega-development in Chicago called Lincoln Yards
Covering 53 acres, Lincoln Yards is a brand new development, and mixed-use community by Sterling Bay Development. It aims to “connect Chicagoans to over 50 acres of riverfront sitting between some of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods…”
Located on a vast piece of undeveloped land, the new neighborhood has been in development since 2019 with plans for future apartment complexes to be completed by 2024.
Sitting between Bucktown, Wicker Park, and Lincoln Park, locals can expect towering buildings, retail shops, restaurants, and more in the not-so-distant future.
2. Chicago’s first-ever rooftop soccer pitch has opened in Lincoln Park
An exciting new soccer venue has opened in Chicago taking the Chicago soccer scene to new heights. Located atop the NEWCITY parking structure in Lincoln Park, the Skyline Pitch is “Chicago’s 1st rooftop soccer venue for guests of all ages to train, play, and celebrate the game of futsal and soccer with an unmatched view of the beautiful Chicago skyline.”
3. Jack’s popular over-the-top pumpkin pop-up has returned for its fifth year
The creative team behind Goose Island’s roster of exciting seasonal popups will tomorrow bring back their popular fall experience ‘Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up‘ for its fifth year in Chicago.
Spanning more than 2 acres of land down in Goose Island guests will find Chicago’s largest corn maze, photo opportunities, over ten thousand pumpkins, and much more all within the over-the-top outdoor pop-up.
4. Chicago Botanic Garden’s enchanting ‘Lightscape’ event will return early November
Chicago Botanic Garden’s popular Lightscape event will soon return for its fourth season giving Chicagoans something to look forward to now that summer has drawn to a close.
After debuting in 2019, the immersive, after-hours trail of twinkling lights has been a complete sell-out in its first three seasons and this year is looking to be much the same. Teaming up with renowned local and international artists, Lightscape offers visitors an electrifying experience and a must-do winter activity at the astounding 385 acres of landscaped gardens.
5. Harry Potter™: Magic at Play will make its worldwide debut in Chicago this fall
The highly-anticipated Harry Potter™: Magic at Play experience, created by Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and Superfly X, will be unveiled in downtown Chicago on November 11, taking over 30,000 square feet at the Water Tower Place at 835 Michigan Avenue.
Tickets are going fast – grab them here while they last!
6. New York Times has ranked two Chicago restaurants among the 50 most exciting in the country
Two Chicago restaurants have been named in the New York Times 2022 list of the 50 most exciting restaurants in the United States this week. New York Times representatives traveled far and wide “from Oklahoma City to Juncos, Puerto Rico, to Orcas Island off the coast of Washington State.”
“Our food reporters, editors, and critics found revelatory Ethiopian barbecue, innovative Haitian cooking, and possibly the most delicious fried pork sandwich in the United States” reads the list’s opening.
Both restaurants to have been included are young establishments having opened in the last two years.
7. A luxe new bar has opened at 360 CHICAGO featuring neighborhood-inspired cocktails
Sip on an Orange Line or opt for the Gold Coast Manhattan at 360 Chicago’s new CloudBar, a luxe new lounge located on the 94th floor of 360 Chicago’s Observation Deck. With trendy drinks inspired by local neighborhoods and places around the Windy City, the $2 million lounge also features food and additional drink options from local businesses like Revolution Brewing, Moody Tongue Brewery, and more.
8. The Old Joliet Prison’s terrifying haunted house experience reawakens this weekend
If you are the kind of person who is fascinated by the tales of purportedly haunted places, gets a buzz from exploring abandoned buildings, and wishes to celebrate this Halloween with more than a costume party, this is for you. For there will be few Halloween experiences spookier than a trip to what will be the Midwest’s only haunted house experience inside a real abandoned prison.
9. ‘Pier Pumpkin Lights’ will return to Navy Pier for all of October
Navy Pier will transform next month for its month-long Pier Pumpkin Lights event. The beloved event returned last year after it was canceled in 2020 due to the global pandemic and will once again feature hundreds of jack-o’lanterns and towering light displays for a spectacular fall transformation.
10. A Chicago artist is solving Chicago’s pothole problem with mosaic masterpieces
You might remember back in 2020, a number of Chicago’s neglected potholes began taking on a new look. While most of us wait for the city to do something about the unsightly craters, one artistic vigilante by the name of Jim Bachor took it upon himself and began roaming Chicago’s streets filling potholes with prismatic mosaics for the good of all.
To Bachor, a pothole isn’t just a nuisance — it’s also a canvas. Inspired by a voluntary archaeological dig in Pompeii, Bachor long ago turned to filling black holes in the asphalt turning them into works of art across the United States.
The artist’s latest groundwork – a new series of mosaics he’s coining “Master pieces” – includes recreations of famous pieces of art such as Van Gogh’s “The Bedroom”, Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, Andy Warhol’s “Portraits of Chairman Mao”, and most recently Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks”.
[Featured image from Upsplash]