By Philip Vidal

 

 

 

 

I recall hearing that Halloween is nearly tied with Christmas as the most important holiday for decorating, party-giving and festivities.  But there are many ways to enjoy Chicago in October that do not require a costume!

 

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is currently the only venue in the U.S. for “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.” This solo exhibition of Ono’s work runs October 18 through February 22, 2026, and includes related live music performance, film screenings and talks.

 

Did you know Yoko Ono’s first permanent public artwork resides in Chicago? Visit the Wooded Island in Jackson Park to view Sky Landing. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Park District.

 

Ono’s first permanent artwork in the U.S., “Sky Landing” (2016), is located on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park.  The sculpture is on the site of the Phoenix Pavillion that Japan brought to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel presided over the ground healing ceremony on June 12, 2015.  Yoko Ono attended.  I also attended, as did the descendants of those involved with the planning of the fair.

 

Another solo exhibition of an internationally acclaimed artist, and billed as the “first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago,” the Smart Museum of Art presents “Theaster Gates: Unto Thee” through February 22, 2026.

 

Aquí en Chicago traces the lives of Latino/a/e communities in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The exhibition opens at the Chicago History Museum on October 25. Photo by Chicago History Museum.

 

As part of its “Chicago Stories” series, WTTW debuted “Young Lords of Lincoln Park” last October about the Young Lords Organization (YLO), which morphed from a social club to street gang to political organization to battle gentrification in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in the 1960s.  My paternal grandparents from Germany bought a home on Cleveland, just north of Lincoln Avenue in the 1920s and moved out in the 1940s, long before gentrification was on anyone’s mind.  The DePaul Art Museum continues the narrative about the Young Lords with the exhibition “Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón: Young Lords in Chicago” through February 8, 2026.  The Chicago History Museum’s exhibition “Aquí en Chicago” opens October 25 and explores the long history of Latino/a/e communities in Chicago and its suburbs.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: The Joffrey at Wolftrap, Virginia, c. 1970s. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

 

From October 3-December 20, Wrightwood 659 hosts a trifecta of terrific exhibitions: “Ellen Altfest: Forever;” “The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.;” and “Scott Burton: Shape Shift.”   The Joffrey exhibition marks their 70th anniversary and explores how it became a role model for dance companies across the United States.

 

The influential surrealist film maker Luis Buñuel is the subject of the exhibition “Buñuel: Master of Dreams” in a seemingly unlikely spot…the International Museum of Surgical Science, which is housed in one of the few remaining mansions along the lake that’s open to the public.  The exhibition marks the centennial of Surrealism and Buñuel’s 125th birthday.

 

The sixty-first Chicago International Film festival runs October 15-26 at ten venues throughout the city.   It opens on the 15th at the Music Box Theatre with the world premiere of Kevin Shaw’s “One Golden Summer,” about Chicago’s Jackie Robinson’s West Little League team.

 

Join the original ‘Brad Majors’ for Rocky Horror Picture Show as they celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary on October 19 at the Chicago Theatre. Photo by Chicago Theatre.

 

The cult classic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was released in 1975.  Just in time for Halloween, and to mark the movie’s 50th anniversary, the Chicago Theatre presents “Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular Tour” on October 19. BrightSide Theatre in Naperville opens its 14th season with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Live!” which runs there from October 24-November 9.

 

Adapted by F. Andrew Leslie from the novel by Shirley Jackson, “The Haunting of Hill House” opens the Saint Sebastian Players’ 44th season at St. Bonaventure, October 24-November 9.    Robert Wise’s 1963 film adaptation of the novel is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen.  Raven Theatre opens its 43rd season with Southern Gothic-style horror.  The Chicago premiere of Terry Guest’s “Oak” runs October 2-November 9.

 

Take part in the 11th annual Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade along the iconic State Street on October 18, 6-8 PM. There will be a record 5,000 performers across 100 cultural organizations participating in the festivities! Photo credit to Alex Basse Photography.

 

But not all is dark and horrific, the 11th Arts in the Dark Parade on October 18 on State Street between Lake and VanBuren is a fun, family-friendly nighttime parade that USA Today named in 2023 as one of the top ten Halloween events in the nation.

 

Celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15-October 15, continue with the 8th citywide edition of Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, October 1-November 2, and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s inaugural Chicago Latinx/e Contemporary Movement Festival at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts on October 11.

 

Oktoberfest continues! Naperville hosts their Oktoberfest weekend with music, dancing, food and even the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, October 3-4. Photo courtesy of Naper Settlement.

 

I can celebrate my German heritage at one of the many Oktoberfest celebrations that continue through this month. Oktoberfest at the Naper Settlement in Naperville, October 3-4, offers a photo op next to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on October 3.  The 13th annual Oktoberfestiversary at Begyle Brewing and Dovetail Brewery on Malt Row in Chicago’s Ravenswood’s neighborhood, October 11-23, features food trucks, live music and kids’ activities.  Donations benefit The Friendship Center.

 

Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods. The Chicago Humanities Festival comes to Hyde Park on October 18 with UChicago Arts + Humanities Day.  There will be a wide array of presenters, including comedian Nick Offerman, photographer Sally Mann, and Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber.   The 15th edition of Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House Chicago, October 18-19, is a great way to explore Chicago’s neighborhoods.  This free festival offers behind-the-scenes access to over 200 sites, including 30 new sites (organized by neighborhoods), and introduces neighborhood headquarters.  This year marks the centennial of the Exposition Internationale des Art Decoratifs in Paris in 1925 that sparked the Art Deco international design movement.  Open House Chicago features some of Chicago’s Art Deco gems such as the Chicago Board of Trade building.   You can also find Art Deco and other treasures at the Antiques + Modernism Show (53rd year) at the Community House in Winnetka, October 31-November 2.  Proceeds from that show benefit the Community House.

 

October features a wide variety of music this month, including blasts from my past.  The Psychedelic Furs with special guest Gary Numan perform at the Auditorium on October 4.  Elvis Costello & The Impostors, with Charlie Sexton, perform at the Chicago Theatre on October 16.  The Auditorium hosts “An Evening with David Byrne – Who is the Sky Tour” October 28, 29, 31 and November 1.

 

For something really old, the Haymarket Opera Company and The Newberry Consort present a concert version of Jacopo Peri’s 1600 opera “Euridice” at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fullerton Hall, October 24, and the Music Institute of Chicago in Evanston, October 25.

 

The acclaimed Organiste Titulaire of Nôtre Dame, Paris, Olivier Latry, will be in town for a wonderful night of free live music at St. Chrysostom’s, October 17th at 7:30 PM.  Photo credit to Deyan Parouchev.

 

Under the direction of Richard Hoskins, St. Chrysostom’s has an incredible music program. A highlight this fall is a free performance by one of the world’s top organists, Olivier Latry, the Organiste Titulaire of Nôtre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on October 17th at 7:30 PM.

 

The Midwest’s largest celebration of new and experimental music returns for the first time since 2021.  Showcasing the new work of many Illinois composers, the Ear Taxi Festival runs October 3-November 2 at various locations.

 

Chicago Fashion Week®’s 11 day citywide celebration of fashion kicks off on October 9 with variety of public events including fashion education and runway fashion events. Photo credit to James Gustin of Fig Media.

 

The first freeze and traces of snow in Chicago typically occur in October.  Which makes this month the perfect time to get new, warm clothes.  The 2nd edition of Chicago Fashion Week® features more than fifty events across the Chicago area, including fashion shows, presentations, retail marketplaces and educational programs, and runs October 9-19.

 

 

Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.