Various venues

Check out galleries and artistic spaces around Wicker Park and Bucktown during this free monthly event that takes place the first Friday of each month. Venues will keep their doors open until 8pm so guests can meet gallery owners and artists, and explore a range of local art. Participating spots include Jackson Junge Gallery, Tom Robinson Gallery, SoNa Contemporary Art, Torque Ltd., Prism Spaces and more.

From June through September this year, dozens of movies will screen in parks all over Chicago as part of the city's annual Movies in the Parks program. From recent blockbusters like Barbie and Wonka to classics like Black Panther and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, you're sure to find good something to watch (for free!) beneath the stars this summer. Screenings typically begin at 8:30pm, or dusk, each evening. Take a look at the full list of movies and participating parks.

Founded in 1981 and organized by Chicago Filmmakers, Reeling is the second-oldest LGBTQ film festival in the U.S., featuring a lineup of features, shorts and documentaries highlighting the diversity of queer stories and filmmakers from around the world. The fest will show dozens of feature and short films this year in a mixture of in-person and virtual screenings. Screenings run from September 19–28 at Landmark Century Centre Cinemas (2828 N. Clark St) and Chicago Filmmakers (1326 W. Hollywood Ave). For a full schedule of films and other events, visit the festival's website.

This annual festival assembles luminaries from the fields of politics, journalism and the arts for a multi-week series of programming across the city, with events ranging from lectures and discussions to screenings and musical performances. Not sure which events to hit? Some of this season's biggest speakers include Kate McKinnon, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Nick Offerman. You can see a full schedule of programming on the Chicago Humanities Festival website. 

Explore music from around the globe during this annual festival, now in its 24th year, which brings a wide array of performers to venues across the city for free musical performances. Experience sounds and subgenres from regions like Brazil, South Korea, Senegal and more. For a full list of performances, visit the festival's website. 

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival returns to venues throughout its namesake neighborhood in September. As always, Hyde Park Jazz Festival's shows are free to attend—for a complete list of performances, visit the festival's website.

Want to get a free, behind-the-scenes look at the Chicago Board of Trade Building, Walt Disney's birthplace home, Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center and more iconic buildings throughout the Chicago area? You’ll have a chance to do so when the Chicago Architecture Center’s annual festival Open House Chicago returns to the city, opening up more than 170 architectural wonders across the city for free tours.