The best things to do in Chicago this week

Good Beer Hunting presents this annual festival devoted to the various intersections between craft beer, coffee, chocolate and cocktails. During two sessions at Thalia Hall, attendees will be able to try brews from the likes of Hopewell, Solemn Oath, Off Color and Middlebrow, as well as coffee from Metric, Intelligentsia and Counter Culture. Plus, you'll also find caffinated cocktails and some interesting dishes to pair with all the bean juice you're consuming.

Journalists, writers, filmmakers, photographers, poets and musicians take part in a multimedia variety show that's designed to capture the feeling on flipping through the pages of your favorite magazine. Pop-Up Magazine teams up with education organization XQ for the latest edition of its show, which tasked contributors with telling stories about things that are happening in modern high schools. Throughout the evening, you'll hear about a high schooler who ran for school board president, a school cafeteria restaurant critic and a sociology class trying to track down a serial killer. Plus, all proceeds from the evening benefit a local non-profit.

The downtown department store hosts this annual flower-filled extravaganza, filling the historic building real blooms and exotic plants. The theme of this year's show is "Journey to Paradisios, Operation: Inspiration," which Macy's describes as a "space-inspired floral fantasy." The sci-fi display includes more than 5,000 types of plants, trees and flowers that take the shape of rocket ships, celestial bodies and aliens. You can see the sights, free of charge, during regular store hours.

Say ciao to spring with Eataly Restaurant Fest, a two-week dining festival featuring prix-fixe menus starting at $15 and bottles of Italian wine for just $25. Savor Eataly’s finest dishes— from the classics like authentic Neapolitan pizza and cacio e pepe pasta to seasonal springtime favorites like spring pea ravioli—all at a great price. Eataly Chicago’s Restaurant Fest takes place from March 18 to 31.

The Mac and Cheez Takedown features samples of the classic dish prepared by Chicago’s best home cooks, all of whom are competing for prizes from Cuisinart and Anolon. Attendees will have two hours to eat all the mac that their stomachs can handle—at the end of the afternoon, one local cook will walk away with some amazing prizes (and some epic bragging rights).

The Chicago Brewseum presents its first exhibition at the Field Museum, exploring the long history of beer in Chicago. Visitors will learn about the German-American immigrants who built some of the city's first breweries, introducing lager to the masses. You can also sit in a replica of the Sauganash Tavern (Chicago's first saloon) and check out a collection of beer-related artifacts, including an original Pabst blue ribbon and a 19th-century brewmaster’s kettle. Unfortunately, guests can't drink inside the exhibit, but the Field's Museum's bar will be happy to serve you a contemporary brew.

When Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy confirmed just how influential his the folk singer's writing and songs have been since he began performing in Greenwich Village in the ‘60s. The American Writers Museum latest exhibit celebrates Dylan's work, displaying artifacts like the 1964 Fender Stratocaster that he used during his first electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and selections from Dylan's book of prose and poetry, Tarantula. Don't think twice about checking out this tribute to one of America's most talented lyricists.