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Photograph: Shutterstock
Photograph: Shutterstock

The best January 2026 events in Chicago

Start the new year with events, festivals, concerts, theater shows and more great things to do in Chicago during January.

Jeffy Mai
Edited by Jeffy Mai
Editor, Time Out Chicago
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We’ll be honest: January is not exactly Chicago’s finest month. But before you start to dwell on the prospect of snow, cold and seemingly endless winter, allow us to point out some of the best ways to kick off the first few weeks of 2026. Start by catching the final days of Christmas lights in Chicago (they offer a nice excuse to take a walk outside, even when the holidays have passed) and get some fresh winter air when you take a spin around the best ice skating rinks the city has to offer. Prefer to stay inside? Tour new exhibits at Chicago museums—many of which offer free days over the next few months—or check out some of the best things to do indoors, including rock climbing, bowling and soul-warming spa days. Make a resolution to start the year on the right foot with the help of our guide to the best things to do in Chicago this January.

RECOMMENDED: Events calendar for Chicago in 2026

Time Out Market Chicago

Time Out Market Chicago

Time Out Market Chicago
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas for Time Out

We've rounded up the best chefs in the city to join us at Time Out Market Chicago, a culinary and cultural destination in the heart of Fulton Market featuring more than 15 kitchens, three bars and one drop-dead gorgeous rooftop terrace—all spread across three floors.

The best events in Chicago this January

Amadeus at Steppenwolf

  • Drama
  • Lincoln Park
Amadeus at Steppenwolf
Amadeus at Steppenwolf
Photograph: Courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Peter Shaffer's 1979 masterwork brings to life the rivalry between composers Antonio Salieri (Ian Barford) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (David Darrow). Salieri is the Court Composer and the established standard of the day—his compositions are palatable, albeit restrained. Enter Mozart, a wild child prodigy with climbing notoriety and the ability to make music like no one has ever heard. Mozart's music moves Salieri to tears, but also awakens a destructive jealousy that compells him to supress Mozart at every turn. 
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City of Chicago Christmas Tree

  • Things to do
  • Millennium Park
  • Recommended
City of Chicago Christmas Tree
City of Chicago Christmas Tree
Photograph: Patrick L. Pyszka
Every year, Millennium Park is adorned with an epic Christmas tree that remains on display until the beginning of the new year. The larger-than-life attraction is festooned with twinkling lights and crowned with an illuminated star. Spectators can check out the festive tree near Washington Street and Michigan Avenue through early January. Want to see the tree light up for the first time this season? The annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony returns this year on Friday, November 21.
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Christmas Around the World

  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Hyde Park
  • price 2 of 4
Christmas Around the World
Christmas Around the World
Photograph: Heidi Peters
Every year, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry puts up its four-story Grand Tree and surrounds the towering pine with more than 50 trees that represent Chicago's various communities and their respective holiday celebrations. Visitors will be able to take in even more seasonal cheer at the accompanying Holidays of Light exhibit, which recognizes the traditions of Chinese New Year, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Visakha Puja Day and St. Lucia Day. Admission to Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light is included with a regular Museum of Science and Industry ticket.
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Lightscape

  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Suburbs
Lightscape
Lightscape
Photograph: Alex Hewitt
The Chicago Botanic Garden hosts this annual (and quick to sell out) display of festive lights, giving guests a host of shimmering reasons to visit the forest preserve during the holiday season. Set along an illuminated path, the after-dark experience features a series of installations to explore, including a 110-foot tunnel made up of 100,000 lights and a group of trees festooned in bulbs that “sing” holiday songs. 
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Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo

  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Suburbs
  • price 2 of 4
Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo
Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo
Photograph: Courtesy Brookfield Zoo
More than two million lights cover the trees, fences and structures in the Brookfield Zoo at this annual holiday event, which is now in its fourth decade. Guests can walk through a 300-foot-long tunnel featuring colored lights synchronized to music, spot larger-than-life illuminated animal sculptures, gaze up at a 41-foot-tall lit tree and warm up with concessions such as funnel cakes, pizza, spiced wine and hot cocoa. 
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Elf’d Up

  • Nightlife
  • Pop-ups and food events
  • Lake View
Elf’d Up
Elf’d Up
Photograph: Courtesy Elf’d Up
The 2003 holiday movie Elf takes center stage at this Wrigleyville pop-up located inside of Stretch Bar & Grill, which gets dressed up with more than 1,000 decorative elves, Christmas trees and plenty of festive Christmas lights. Take a seat at tables stocked with the four main food groups (candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup) and treat yourself to a plate of Buddy's breakfast pasta (spaghetti loaded with maple syrup, chocolate fudge and syrup, mini marshmallows and strawberry frosted pop tarts) or a beer served in a 36-ounce elf boot. Want to catch a glimpse of Buddy the elf himself? Visit the pop-up between Thursday and Sunday, when he's known to make appearances from time to time. 
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