Memorial Day weekend events: Enjoy Navy Pier fireworks, food and music festivals across city

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's always remarkable to see Chicago come alive on Memorial Day weekend every year, and that has certainly been the case on Saturday, no matter what part of the city you're in.

It's been a special atmosphere with people at every corner you look.

Thousands of people have been bringing the energy to the two-day Suenos Festival in Grant Park, which celebrates Latin culture with a full slate of music and delicious locally-made Latin food. It has brought in people from all around the country.

"Suenos Festival has been on-point. Good music, good people," said one person visiting from Oklahoma.

Gabriel Blanco, from Indianapolis, is one of the many tourists taking in the special atmosphere across the city.

"We just took a tour on a boat and we saw it from there. People hyped up; so it's great," Blanco said.

People soaked up the sunshine along the lakefront and in the heart of downtown at Buckingham Fountain.

"I love the hectic-ness of the city. It's arranged chaos, you could say. You can find anything to do, if you want something chill, you want something fun. There's a bunch of things to do in Chicago," Blanco said.

Plenty of action is also going on across the North Side with the Belmont Sheffield Music Fest happening on Saturday. The festival includes all kinds of live music and treats from the Lakeview area.

"We have gone here several years. We love this fest. It always ends up being a full day," said Courtney Kaczor.

It's made for a special family day for some people, and even the young ones are excited about what they've seen.

"It's really fun, I like it. All of these places are actually cool," Gabe Anderson said.

With another summer now on the horizon, people are grateful to enjoy all the little things that make this city so special.

"It's great. It's almost like before COVID, right? Fantastic, except for the traffic," said James Poppas, a Gold Coast resident.

ABC7 caught up with some people there who were pleasantly surprised to come across the party in their neighborhood.

"We actually didn't know about this festival at all. Strolling by, thought it looked pretty cool, decided we wanted to check it out," said Sophia Elsen, who lives nearby.

The North Side will also be buzzing with the Chicago Cubs hosting a game there on Saturday. Back in the downtown area, people were seeb finding the perfect spot to watch the fireworks from Navy Pier.

Those fireworks started around 10 p.m. on Saturday night.