Picnicking on the lawn to great jazz, pop and classical artists at Ravinia is a favorite summer activity for many families. But with lawn admission at $10 per adult and $5 per child age 10 and under making a $30 dent in the budget of a family of four (not counting a visit to the ice cream counter), it is nice to know that a limited number of free lawn tickets are available at all Chicago library branches and centers and at most locations in the North Suburban Library System and Suburban Library (most of Cook, some in Will and Du Page Counties) System.
Thanks to the sponsorship of the Quaker Oats Foundation, a total of 1,100 free lawn tickets for each CSO, Martin Theatre and Jazz at Ravinia concert have been distributed to the three library systems. The free tickets can also be used as discount coupons for Pavilion seats.
The first qualification to obtain the freebies is to have a valid card in a participating library system. But before running over to snag a couple (usually limited to two passes per concert), call first. Ask (outside Chicago) whether the library is participating in Ravinia’s Words & Music program. Then, find out if passes to the desired concert are still available. People with a Chicago Public Library card can check any of its 78 sites. Families in the North Suburban and Suburban Systems have one more question are the tickets raffled off or given out only to participants in a specific library program. Some suburban libraries distribute their allotment to members of their summer reading programs, others have drawings.