Mayfest, Manifest, Israeli Jazz and World Music Festival and more.
Get ready for your fest quest to begin, Chicago. Thirsty? Head to one of the 400 Chicago Craft Beer Week events going on over the next 11 days. Looking for music? Israeli Jazz and World Music Festival starts Thursday and Mayfest kicks off street fest season in Lakeview with cover bands aplenty. Get a heavy dose of offbeat art performances with a side of ziplining and some recognizable names in the local music scene at Manifest Urban Arts Festival on Friday. Check out our guide below for a rundown of this weekend’s festivals, and check back every week throughout the summer for updates.
Chicago Craft Beer Week
When: May 14-24
Where: various locations
How much: Some events are free to attend, while others are ticketed.
The skinny: BYO-craft beer enthusiasm to more than 400 events from beer tastings and dinners to releases and pub crawls. It’s the biggest CCBW yet in its 6th year, when breweries both local and beyond are the focus at venues throughout the city and suburbs. Check out our how-to guide to CCBW.
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Israeli Jazz and World Music Festival
When: May 14-22
Where: Various locations
How much: Some events are free to attend. Ticketed events cost $10-$28.
The skinny: The third annual fest once again brings the Middle Eastern perspective to the musical genre so widely celebrated in Chicago, with seven artists with ties to Israel, both emerging and renowned, in nine venues over eight days. Lazer Lloyd performs the fest’s first blues show at House of Blues on May 19 (8 p.m. $10. 329 N. Dearborn St. 312-923-2000). Up-and-comer Mika Hary, who was chosen as a lead singer in the Israeli Defense Forces Orchestra during her mandatory military service, plays a free show in a quartet at Bright Star Church May 17 (4 p.m. 735 E. 44th St. 773-373-5220) and The Promontory May 18 (8 p.m. $15. 5311 South Lake Park Ave. West. 312-801-2100). And catch Yemenite folk bass-player Omer Avital perform in a quintet May 15-16 at Green Mill Jazz Club (9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday. $10. 4802 N. Broadway 773-878-5552). Schedule and additional details: isra.li/jazzfest
Mayfest
When: 5–10 p.m. Friday, noon–10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: 3100 N. Ashland Ave. at West Barry Avenue
How much: $7.50–$25 for single-day admission online (eventsprout.com/register/mayfest). $10 at the gate.
The skinny: It’s a cover-band-apalooza all three days at this Lakeview fest with acts such as the leather-clad glam metal band Hairbangers Ball (Friday, 8 p.m.), Too White Crew with classic hip-hop jams (Saturday, 8 p.m.) and Rod Tuffcurls and The Bench Press mashing up everything from The Beatles to Miley Cyrus (Sunday, 8 p.m.). The fest will take place under a large tent with an outdoor beer garden, and for the first time, feature TV screens for sports-viewing. Red Baron pizza is included with general admission.
Columbia College Manifest Urban Arts Festival
When: Noon – 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Along Wabash Avenue between Congress Parkway and 11th Street and inside campus buildings
How much: Free
The skinny: Street art, and ziplines and zombies are just some of the odd goings-on at the Columbia College student-run showcase of art from fashion, music and storytelling to pop-up art galleries, dance and sketch comedy. Don’t miss local indie rock band Twin Peaks at 7:15 p.m. and Chicago rapper Saba at 6:30 p.m. There will also be a four-story superhero mural by painter and street artist Hebru Brantley and a live zombie-themed film shooting, in which fest-goers can be extras.
>>Click here for our full festival schedule and weekend-by-weekend gallery.
Fest survival tip No. 1
Where there’s an app, download it. The Chicago Craft Beer Week 2015 app can help you make a schedule for the duration of the fest, or find events on the fly sorted by day, neighborhood, soonest and nearest. You can also find where the specials are located. In the past, major music festivals like Lollapalooza, Pitchfork and Riot Fest have had apps that have been helpful schedule makers so you don’t miss the big acts you’re planning to see. If there isn’t an app, look for a schedule and a map to take a photo of with your phone, so you’re not lost if you misplace that tattered paper schedule you’ve been trying to hang onto all weekend.
#ChiFestQuest
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