Chicago summer fun is back: Events and outdoor activities reopen
Chicagoans are ready for summer fun, and after a pandemic hiatus, several events are finally back.
Even though temperatures were only in the 40s Wednesday, Chicagoans beamed with excitement after seeing one sign of summer sail along the Chicago River. The last four-masted schooner named "Windy", along with several smaller sailboats made their way to Lake Michigan and Navy Pier.
"We love it, it's fantastic, Chicago, summer! And I can't wait to go snow skiing next week!" joked Ben Wozniak, referring to the cold weather.
His wife, Vanessa Wozniak, added: "Summer? It's freezing."
Yes, Wednesday proved to be a cold day. But people still stood along the Chicago Riverwalk, snapping pictures of the majestic schooner. And Mr. Wozniak summed up the feeling nicely.
RELATED: Tall Ship Windy makes way to summer mooring spot at Navy Pier
"We've had two years of just staying cocooned in our place and being afraid of going anywhere and doing anything. We're extremely excited, we're just going to explode with fun," he said.
And there were plenty of fun announcements Wednesday, including the schedule for Chicago Summerdance, which beings June 18.
"It's really beautiful to be together, and we know that's going to be the experience of people coming out to SummerDance as well," said John Rich, the SummerDance Programmer. "It's very emotional, but it's also energetic, it's about enthusiasm, and seeing old friends and making new ones."
Parades are back too! On Saturday, May 7, ABC 7's Alan Krashesky is the Grand Marshal of the Polish Constitution Day Parade.
The Little Village Chamber of Commerce also announced Wednesday that the Mexican Independence Parade is back after a two-year hiatus. It happens Sunday, September 11th on 26th Street.
If you're looking for a concert, Ravinia has a full season. Public tickets went on sale at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
"We had over 14,000 people on our website by 8:15 a.m. starting to buy tickets. We have sold hundreds of thousands of tickets," said Jeff Haydon, president and CEO of Ravinia Festival.
The Chicago Food Truck Festival returns to Daley Plaza every Friday starting May 20th.
The Wozniaks may speak for a lot of us.
"We're very excited, very excited," said Mr. Wozniak.
Vanessa Wozniak added: "We want to get out there, we want to do things, we want to breathe, we just want fresh air and have a lot of fun."
Of course there's always baseball too. The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox played Wednesday night. The next Crosstown Classic is on Memorial Day weekend.
