In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue and landed in the Bahamas (he thought that he was somewhere in Asia). In 2014, we're far more aware of the complicated legacy of colonialism, but we've still got a holiday named after the controversial explorer of the "New World." That said, if you're lucky enough to get the day off of work, you shouldn't waste it. Check out some great things you can do while the rest of us are stuck behind our desks.
Go to brunch. Plenty of Chicago brunch institutions are open on Monday morning, so you can start your day at Lula Cafe, Bite Cafe, Jam, Kingsbury Street Cafe or Longman & Eagle without having to deal with the weekend crowds.
Check out the Columbus Day Parade. It's not a federal holiday without a parade to commemorate the occasion. The annual Columbus Day Parade marches down State Street (between Lake and Van Buren), beginning at 12:30pm. Thankfully, the event is more concerned with celebrating Italian-American culture than glorifying the holiday's namesake explorer.
Spend the day in a museum. Monday is your last chance to see the Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926–1938 exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can also visit the Museum of Science and Industry (make sure to walk through the mirror maze in the new Numbers in Nature exhibit), the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, the Chicago History Museum and the Adler Planetarium. Unfortunately, the Museum of Contemporary Art will be closed, so you'll have to check out the Bowie exhibit some other time.
Get enlightened. Columbus Day marks the kick-off of the Chicago Ideas Week, an annual series of seminars and talks that seek to inspire thinkers of all ages. Go see David Gregory and David Axelrod at Politics: Behind the Headlines, or snag tickets to some of the week's most inspiring events.
Go to a haunted house (if you dare). The arrival of Columbus Day means that October is halfway over, so you only have a couple more weeks to partake in some the city's best haunted houses. Many of them have special Columbus Day hours, including Six Flags' Fright Fest, Fear City and The Fear at Navy Pier (though we maintain that Navy Pier is always slightly terrifying).
See a blockbuster movie. Didn't have time to make it your local multiplex this summer? We hear ya. Catch up with the world of cinema by seeing some great movies, including Boyhood, Gone Girl, The Boxtrolls and even Guardians of the Galaxy (go ahead, see it for the third time).