Winter
Photograph: Neal O'Bryan

The best of 2016

See our essential guide to the best of 2016 including restaurant and bar openings, theater performances, music and more

Advertising

2016 was surely a year filled with ups and downs—we saw openings of long-awaited bars and restaurants and the closings of theater companies far too soon. Chance the Rapper brought his Magnificent Coloring Day music festival to the south side and the Cubs brought a World Series win—108 years in the making—to the north side. Below our critics highlight the best of what happened in 2016 before we set our sights on 2017.  

See the best of 2016

The weirdest Chicago news stories of 2016
Things to do

The weirdest Chicago news stories of 2016

A White Sox world record that went to the dogs and Donald Trump’s honorary 3-inch wiener are just a couple of Chicago’s weirdest news stories this...

The 20 best movies of 2016
Movies

The 20 best movies of 2016

A year of stellar performances and oceans of tears (onscreen and off), 2016 may have sucked, but its movies didn’t