The best things to do in Chicago this week

In addition to the regular Arts in the Dark parade on State Street, the arts organization LUMA8 hosts a "reverse" parade—during which attendees pass through a stretch of costumed performance groups lining Russell Drive in Washington Park. Bonus: At the end of the route, attendees receive a complimentary candy bag and other goodies. Come wearing your best Halloween costume!

After dark, things get a little wild at Lincoln Park Zoo. This no-kids-allowed crowd-pleaser—complete with cash bars and food vendors—is back with a Halloween-themed edition. Play games on the lawn, dance to DJ-curated tunes, walk down a haunted trail, get your face painted and learn more about the hordes of animal life through fun discussions with the zoo team. Costumes are encouraged!

Take the little ones down Lincoln Avenue and Clark Street in Lincoln Park for some Halloween fun. Business along those stretches will transform into trick-or-treat stops, so come dressed in costume! There will also be a special Halloween celebration—complete with face painting, a photo booth and more—in the plaza at Lincoln Common.

Some of the latest and greatest movies to hit the festival circuit arrive in the Midwest during the Chicago International Film Festival, which typically presents a lineup of around 100 dramas, documentaries, comedies and foreign films, plus 60 short film programs. In addition to CIFF's home base at AMC Newcity 14, the fest offers viewing opportunities across the city, with screenings at the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Center and more. 

Every October, Rough House Puppet Arts creates a brand new immersive production to celebrate spooky season. House of the Exquisite Corpose, Chicago's one and only haunted house staffed by puppets, returns for its fifth year for a new immersive experience. For House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood & Puppets, six teams of Chicago artists orchestrate six unique and terrifying puppet-driven vignettes—all inspired by the theme “blood.” Recommended for audiences aged 13 and over. 

Queen!, Smartbar's weekly LGBTQ underground house and disco party, takes over the entire 3730 building in celebration of Halloween. House heavyweights including Derrick Carter and Ralphi Rosario have the tunes covered, while local drag queens (Lucy Stoole, Nico and more) play host. Metro and Smartbar will be decked out to match the party's spooky theme, and costumes are encouraged. 

More than 140 artisan vendors show off handmade home decor, art, clothing, jewelry and more at the fall edition of Market for Makers, a two-day event that brings together crafty people from across the country. Every guest receives a tote bag, access to fun photo ops and a DIY Station where you can create a unique keepsake.

Returning to a two-acre plot of land just west of Goose Island, Jack's Pumpkin Pop-Up saves you a trip to the suburbs by bringing a huge corn maze, more than 10,000 pumpkins, axe throwing, carnival games, food trucks, twinkling orange light displays and more fall fun to the city. A general admission ticket nets you access to the pop-up, but you can also opt for add-ons that let you take home a pumpkin, grab a drink at one of bars or go axe throwing. 

Get in the holiday spirit at this annual ghoulish makeover of the Chicago Botanic Garden. The event brings together more than 1,000 real pumpkins—some weighing up to 150 pounds—which are LED-lit creations and staged along the garden's pathway where other entertaining characters and activations await visitors. Seasonal snacks and drinks are available for purchase, in case all that wandering makes you hungry. 

Guitar for Guaraldi is an annual free concert celebrating the work of Vince Guaraldi—the American jazz pianist best known for scoring the television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. Throughout the night, the Mich Shirley Trio will perform true-to-form guitar arrangements featured in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. 

The eighth annual Destinos: Chicago Latino Theater Festival returns to Chicago with a four-week lineup of live theater performances at venues throughout the city and Northwest Indiana. As usual, this year's lineup revolves around Latino-driven storylines, including several world premieres: Teatro Inovarte (a musical blending mariachi, ballet and queer love), Concrete Content (an immersive sketch show reimagining Latin futures via fake movie trailers) and more. 

Every Wednesday, the Adler stays open late from 4–10pm so that folks can visit after work or school—best of all, admission is free for Illinois residents. Escape the planet with exhibits about the first lunar missions, the solar system and more, plus sky shows in an immersive dome theater. 

Get your fall feels on at Lincoln Park Zoo's annual free festival. You can snag a photo with a giant pumpkin, watch master gourd carvers at work, enjoy live music and see all kinds of animals. The festival also includes several ticketed experiences such as carousel rides, a bounce house, harvest maze, a slide and more. 

Step aboard City Cruises’ Seadog for a fun-filled journey through Chicago's history of ghosts, spirits, scandals and sins. As guests cruise along the Chicago River for 45 spooky minutes, expert—and costumed—docents weave stories of Chicago's darker side while cruising through the city's most iconic architecture. 

Hosted at Stolen Saddle—one of Chicago's newest and largest country bars—this annual Halloween-themed extravaganza features photo ops galore as well an upstairs bar serving spooky cocktails like Freddy’s Tequila and Monster Mash. With the Cubs clinching a playoff spot this year, there’s no haunted house this go-around—but that doesn't mean Nightmare on Clark Street won't be serving up scares this Halloween season.

Fall is about more than crisp leaves and pumpkin spice—and Island Party Hut is here to prove it. The Riverwalk tiki bar’s fall fest returns with seasonal cocktails, river hayrides, a pumpkin patch and more. With live music, photo ops and a drink included in your ticket, it’s a celebration guaranteed to get you in the autumn spirit.

A terrifying story set in the world of the Paranormal Activity film franchise, Felix Barrett (Sleep No More) and Chicago playwright Levi Holloway's latest endeavor promises chills and thrills. Here's what you need to know: James and Lou flee from Chicago to London in hopes of escaping the past, but they soon discover that it's not the city that was haunted—it's them. 

Get ready to unleash your inner Nancy Drew: Escape the Museum is returning to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Participants will journey through a world of mystery, where each exhibit holds clues that lead closer to victory—and the honor of being crowned a member of the Guild of Alchemists. Designed for ages eight and up, the puzzles are engaging for the whole family, while also making this a perfect outing for couples and large groups. The escape room’s runtime averages 50 to 90 minutes, though puzzle-solving prowess may shorten or extend your stay in the museum.

This annual celebration of scary films returns to the Music Box Theatre for a monthlong marathon of frightening, thrilling and chilling movies. Catch screenings of films like Addams Family Values, Let The Right One In, and Bride of Frankenstein. 

The masterminds behind the irreverent long-running comedy show Drunk Shakespeare are unleashing their latest monster mash-up, “Drunk Dracula,” on the city just in time for spooky season. The premise is simple, but no less hilarious: Dracula gets drunk, unsuspecting citizens fight for survival and Bram Stoker’s vampire classic gets a boozy makeover that’s equal parts unhinged and fun.

Round up your family for a wild, multi-weekend Halloween festival perfect for all ages to enjoy. Decorate a pumpkin, take a spin on the decked-out carousel or pose for photos amongst giant inflatables and wooden cut-outs of Halloween characters. The not-too-spooky event also treats some of the zoo's animals—including capybaras, polar bears and gorilla—to pumpkins that they can play with, nibble on and smash. 

Prepare to be awed by this one-of-a-kind magic show where kids don't just watch the magic—they help make it happen. Set against the vibrant glow of a mysterious neon portal, this one-magician show is packed with fun for the whole family. Expect jaw-dropping illusions, hilarious moments and interactive surprises.

For more than 30 years, the Neo-Futurists have been delighting late-night crowds with performances that pack 30 miniature plays into a 60-minute show. The company's signature show is more unpredictable than ever these days, with a handful of compact new plays premiering every week. Within the span of 10 minutes, you may be treated to a poignant monologue about everyday life or an irreverent diatribe delivered by a pantsless member of the cast—all inspired by the experiences of the performers on stage. Always changing and evolving, it's the rare show that truly offers something different everytime you show up to see it.

Displaying a 25-story-tall video installation on the side of THE MART, ART on THE MART is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, with programming that changes seasonally. ART on THE MART's array of 34 digital projectors show the creations after dusk every evening. Running Thursdays through Saturdays beginning at 7:30pm, it’s best viewed from the section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells Street and Franklin Street.

This weekly “live magazine” is a cavalcade of culture, politics and wit featuring journalists, actors, comedians and musicians offering idiosyncratic reports on the news of the day. Head to Uptown’s iconic Green Mill for drinks, hot takes and laughs; the longstanding Saturday afternoon edition tends to run about two and a half hours.

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