Top 20 for Halloween: Haunted houses, horrifying puppets and the parade
From now until All Hallows’ Eve and beyond, our annual haunted house guide, plus 10 other attractions for your spooky season.
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Review: Palme d’Or winner ‘Fjord’ is a thorny and complicated drama
"Fjord" is inspired by a real case in Norway, with a Romanian family at its...
Review: ‘The Social Reckoning’ lacks nuance but delivers a meaningful message
In Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” subtlety is not the goal as it dramatizes the...
Arts
Obama Foundation workers move to unionize
Months after former President Barack Obama's museum's opening this summer, employees at the museum foundation announced Wednesday they are unionizing.
Books
Educator with ties to Moraine Valley, Dominican University, deemed state’s Academic Librarian of the Year
Troy Swanson, who works at Moraine Valley Community College and Dominican University, has been named the state's Librarian of the Year.
Movies
Eva Marie Saint, star of ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘On the Waterfront,’ dies at 102
Eva Marie Saint, the pale, willowy actor who won an Academy Award for her first movie, “On the Waterfront,” and starred opposite Cary Grant in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “North by Northwest,” has died. She was 102.
TV and Streaming
What Paramount’s Warner Bros. takeover means for streaming, movies and news
What the Skydance deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will mean for streaming, movies, news and more.
Theater
Review: ‘Dead Girl’s Quinceañera’ at Goodman Theatre turns an apparent abduction into a teenage caper
Phanésia Pharel's new play has a lively cast of adults playing teenagers, and is not a play that lacks guts.
Restaurants, Food and Drink
Tribune’s 2026 Holiday Cookie Contest: Submit your recipes now
Chicago may be easing into autumn, but it's already time to launch the Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, which is marking its 40th edition.
Music and Concerts
A quartet of new music festivals take root in Chicago this month
Summer is over, but music festival season very much isn’t. Cue the Red Line Jazz Fest, an AACM festival and others.
Travel
More Top Picks Photophobia Resources
The quiet allure of private rail
Private rail cars traveled 429,000 miles on Amtrak in fiscal year 2025, according to the American Association of Private Rail Car Owners, accounting for $2.5 million of Amtrak’s $3.9 billion in revenue last year — hardly a significant line in...
Home and Garden
Plant bulbs now for spring bloom
There’s no more satisfying way to spend a crisp fall day than planting bulbs for spring bloom.
Recipes
Easy homemade lasagna
This is my spin on a traditional Italian lasagna (lasagna Bolognese, if you will).
Fashion
‘Flying off the shelf’: Sports apparel stores scramble to keep up with demand for White Sox merchandise
With the team headed to the AL Division Series this weekend, stores across Chicago are experiencing an unprecedented demand for Sox swag.
Entertainment
Open House 2026: Our 12 don’t-miss spots this year
More Top Picks Best Expression Pedals
The annual free event, presented by the Chicago Architecture Center, opens the doors to hundreds of Chicago buildings and sites worth seeing.