A Halloween celebration at Central Park Bar
Photograph: Courtesy of Central Park Bar
Photograph: Courtesy of Central Park Bar

The best things to do in Chicago this week

Find the very best things to do in Chicago this week, including cultural events, festivals and shows.

Shannon Shreibak
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Last updated October 27, 2025: It happened: We’ve reached the final week of spooky season—a bittersweet pocket of time before fake cobwebs are replaced by string lights and crisp fall breezes yield to punishing sleet and snow. So, before the city slips into a yuletide tizzy, squeeze in a few of the best (mostly Halloween-themed) things to do this week. If you’re looking to embrace all things spooky and scary, there’s no shortage of events for you: Haunted Halsted Halloween Night Parade marches through the Northalsted neighborhood, the Shedd Aquarium transforms into a haunted house and Weegee’s Lounge becomes David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. There are plenty of things to do for the Halloween abstainer, too: the Vimeo Staff Picks Screening brings some of the platform’s best short films to the big screen, La Carrera de los Muertos winds through Pilsen and The Other Art Fair returns to Artifact Events this week.

RECOMMENDED: Discover the best things to do in Chicago in October 2025

Time Out Market Chicago

Best events in Chicago this week

  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Lake View
  • Recommended

Wanna see some of the best Halloween costumes in the city? Head to Northalsted, where a group of dedicated cosplayers shows off their creations at this annual procession. You'll find drag queens, kids, parents and pets marching in the Halsted Halloween Night Parade, which typically features impressive group costumes and dancers performing all the moves to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." 

  • Music
  • Loop

Founding frontman of the Talking Heads—and musical legend in his own right—David Byrne is returning to Chicago for a four-night stand with a new album in tow. Byrne’s forthcoming album, Who Is the Sky?, is his first release since 2018’s universally acclaimed album-turned-Broadway-show-turned-concert-film American Utopia. To celebrate the release of Who Is the Sky?, Byrne will travel around the globe with a band comprised of 13 musicians, singers, and dancers—all of whom will be mobile throughout the set.

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  • Things to do
  • Museum Campus

The first-ever Haunted House Party at Shedd Aquarium brings together house music and Halloween for a night to remember. Despite the event's name, there will be no scares here—the event's vibe is decidedly more “house party” than “haunted.” Guests are invited to come dressed in their finest costumes and dance the night away to sets by Chicago’s own Dee Jay Alicia and DJ Loria Branch. 

  • Things to do
  • Quirky events
  • Lincoln Park

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. 

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  • Things to do
  • Festivals

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. 

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. 

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  • Museums
  • Museum Campus

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. 

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  • Things to do
  • Logan Square

The ownership of Weegee's Lounge may have changed, but the bar's annual Twin Peaks Halloween Pop-Up remains—thankfully—unchanged. For two nights, the Logan Square cocktail bar's cozy digs transform into vignettes from the beloved surrealist drama. Most of the bar will be decorated to resemble the Red Room, but expect a miniature Double R Diner, nods to One Eyed Jacks, an on-theme cocktail menu and much more. Roll up on Halloween proper in your costumed finery for the Twin Peaks Costume Contest. 

  • Sports and fitness
  • Running
  • Millennium Park
  • Recommended

What's the ultimate reward for finishing a 5K or 15K race? If you answered “chocolate,” then you should probably sign up for the Hot Chocolate 5K, 10K, 15K or two-mile walk, an annual race that lets participants indulge in all types of sweet treats once the running is over. Participants get a race-themed hoodie, a medal the looks like a cup of hot cocoa and access to post-race gathering where chocolate goodies will be served.

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  • Things to do
  • Quirky events
  • Wrigleyville

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.

  • Streeterville

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. 

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  • Things to do
  • Performances
  • Loop

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.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Suburbs

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. 

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  • Sports and fitness
  • Running
  • Lower West Side

La Carrera de los Muertos—or “Race of the Dead”—is a fundraising event that originated in Pilsen, Chicago, in 2007. With a course weaving through Pilsen, runners and walkers convene to celebrate Día de los Muertos, complete with costumes, entertainment and food. The race's proceeds benefit UNO, a nonprofit that supports girls' access to mentorship, mental health, leadership and physical wellbeing.

  • Experimental
  • Uptown

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.

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  • Art
  • Fairs
  • Lake View

More than 115 emerging artists will be selling their work at Saatchi Art's touring art fair, which takes place this year at Artifact Events. Prices for art start at around $100, making this the perfect opportunity for burgeoning collectors to start their very own gallery wall without spending an arm and a leg. 

  • Art
  • Film and video
  • Recommended

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.

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  • Comedy
  • Uptown
  • Recommended

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.

  • Kids
  • Lincoln Park

No tricks here: Families can treat themselves to a fun-filled Halloween celebration at Chicago's largest indoor pickleball facility at the tail-end of spooky season. Nosh on festive fall treats, decorate a pumpkin, swing by a face painting station and, of course, play a few rounds of pickleball during this afternoon shindig. True to the event's theme, costumes are encouraged.

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  • Sports and fitness
  • Yoga & Pilates
  • Streeterville
  • Recommended

Head to 360 Chicago on Saturdays for yoga with a killer view. Instructor Britta Eumann will lead an hour-long class on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly the John Hancock Center) that’s suitable for all ages and skill levelsyou just need to bring your own mat and arrived properly dressed. Registration is $55 and includes a cocktail or coffee, plus admission to the observation deck so you can stick around and snap some photos after you're done striking poses on the mat.

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