"Fall" in Love with Chicago This Autumn Season

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. October 14, 2008

CHICAGO, IL, September 8, 2008. The autumn season is the perfect time to explore Chicago. With special events on the lakefront, long-awaited museum exhibitions, and an entire month dedicated to showcasing the city's visual artists, the autumn season is the perfect time to explore Chicago. There is always something to do in Chicago!

Visitors to the city are invited to make their first stop the Visitor Information Center in the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 78 East Washington Street.

For more information on visiting Chicago this fall, or to book accommodations, visit www.cityofchicago.org/tourism or call 877-CHICAGO.

Special Events

September 1-25, Chicago is home to artist Kurt Perschke's RedBall Project, a mobile sculptural performance that functions as a series of daily installations over a period of one month. The site-specific installations of the 15-foot inflatable sphere will be boldly present and smoothly transient, moving between chosen locations and engaging people on the Chicago streets and near landmark buildings, including the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park and others. As public art that migrates, RedBall is unique in each city.

www.redballproject.com

Chicago showcases the best of today's international music at the 10th Annual World Music Festival: Chicago 2008, Friday, September 19 through Thursday, September 25, 2008. The 2008 festival line-up features more than 70 events at 21 venues. Many events are family friendly and 38 events are admission free. Events include 6 live radio broadcasts and a mix of free and ticketed concerts presented in museums, parks, cultural centers, plazas, theaters, clubs and other venues throughout Chicago. The 2008 festival features more than 65 artists representing 39 countries.

www.cityofchicago.org/worldmusic

Chicago Artists Month (CAM), organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, returns this October for its thirteenth year. The month-long event presents unique opportunities for the public to view artists at work and explore Chicago's vibrant visual arts community. From exhibitions to neighborhood art walks, open studio tours, and more, everyone is invited to events at over 200 galleries, museums, cultural centers, and arts buildings in over 40 Chicago neighborhoods throughout the city. This year's theme is Artists and Issues that Matter. Anticipating the November election, CAM explores issues of interest and concern to artists and the art community, including political, environmental, moral, social, global, or personal issues.

www.chicagoartistsmonth.com

Don't miss Fashion Focus Chicago, a weeklong celebration of Chicago's thriving fashion industry! Running from Wednesday, October 1 through Wednesday, October 8 Fashion Focus Chicago showcases some of the city's top designers, and features five runway shows in Millennium Park, fashion nstallations, shopping events, student designer events, and industry seminars.

www.chicagofashionresource.com

The Chicago Country Music Festival, a weekend full of music and dancing, begins Saturday, October 11 and runs through Sunday, October 12, 2008. The Chicago Country Music Festival, once a part of the Taste of Chicago, celebrates its 18th year with a new festival area at the Soldier Field parkland with concerts featuring headliners Gretchen Wilson and Taylor Swift, plus Luke Brian, Lady Antebellum and Heartsfield. In addition, there will be three performance stages and a dance tent. Activities include square dancing and karaoke. There are also many things to do for kids of all ages at the new "Kid Corral" located on the east side of Soldier Field.

www.chicagocountrymusicfestival.us

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is the pinnacle of achievement for elite athletes and everyday runners alike. On Sunday, October 12, 2008 runners from all 50 states and over 100 countries will set out to accomplish a personal dream. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is known globally for its fast, flat course. Elite athletes and amateurs alike annually target the race for its potential to generate personal, national and world records. In addition to its speed, the course offers a scenic tour of Chicago as it weaves through 29 diverse neighborhoods and dozens of local and historic landmarks. Runners are guaranteed to see all that is great about the city of Chicago.

www.chicagomarathon.com

This Halloween, downtown Chicago's Daley Plaza will be re-vamped into Franken Plaza. From October 17-31, kids and adults can take part in pumpkin decorating, spooky storytellers, new scary movie nights and performances to amaze and thrill audiences from Midnight Circus, Spunn and Pyrotecniq. Plus, kids can join the fun by marching in costume as part of The State Street Halloween Happening Parade on Saturday, October 25.

www.chicagoween.us

Upcoming Museum Exhibitions

Through October 1, visit the DuSable Museum of African American History to discover Forgotten Roots: Muslims in Early America Through the 20th Century. This exhibition examines the history of America through her Islamic lens. The first of its kind to do so, this exhibition highlights America's rich Islamic history by connecting Muslims to early America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

www.dusablemuseum.org.

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Art Institute will present, for the first time, a comparison of Cartier-Bresson's photographs to the modern drawings, etchings, and paintings of his contemporaries. Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art and Photography of Paris opens on September 20, 2008 and will run through January 4, 2009.

www.artic.edu

From October 26, 2008 through April 19, 2009, visitors can explore the grandeur and complexity of one of the world's great civilizations at the Field Museum of Natural History. Within the span of 200 years, the Aztecs went from a nomadic group to one of the most powerful and influential societies ever, leaving behind a legacy that lives on today. Trace the remarkable rise and fall of The Aztec World exclusively at The Field Museum.

www.fieldmuseum.org

Theatrical Highlights

Dirty Dancing, the worldwide musical smash is having its pre-Broadway US premiere in Chicago! The movie is an entertainment phenomenon with an unforgettable soundtrack. Re-imagined for the stage by the original screenwriter, Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage, explodes with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion and sensationally sexy dancing. Step inside the classic story of Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, who come together in what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their lives told by a tremendous cast of 39 and featuring 35 hit songs, including "Hungry Eyes", "Hey Baby", "Do You Love Me?" and the heart-stopping "I've Had The Time of My Life". Begins September 28.

www.broadwayinchicago.com

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, winner of 5 2008 Tony Awards, opens its 2008-2009 season with a world premiere production of Kafka on the Shore, adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati. In the production, a young boy's coming of age parallels an old man's search for destiny in modern-day Japan where the borders between everyday reality, dreams and imagination are constantly crossed. In this fantastical tale about waking up to your own life, audiences will encounter talking cats on the streets of Tokyo, World War II soldiers trapped in time, Colonel Sanders and Johnnie Walker. Runs September 18 - November 16, 2008.

www.steppenwolf.org

Recipient of the 2008 Regional Theater Tony Award, Chicago Shakespeare Theater opens its 2008-2009 season with Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, the award-winning drama based on the music and intertwining lives of the brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his jealous rival, Court Composer Antonio Salieri. Amadeus is followed by The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer, by Shakespeare's brilliant contemporary and rival playwright Christopher Marlowe. This production is the first work by Marlowe to be performed by Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Amadeus runs September 6 - November 9. Edward II runs from October 1 - November 9.

www.chicagoshakes.com

High art meets low when the Storefront Theater presents Blair Thomas and Company. Cabaret of Desire gives voice to 20th century poet Federico Garcia Lorca through a cabaret of puppets, amoral ruffians, and original music for an evening of highly unique theater. The adult-themed production presents a comedy of failures chronicling one man's pursuit of love and affection. What unfolds is a surreal world where one man's fantasy collides with its own end. Runs from October 9 - November 8.

www.dcatheater.org

Visitors and Chicagoans planning to entertain out-of-town guests can receive Chicago brochures, reserve hotel accommodations and receive trip-planning assistance by calling toll-free 1.877.CHICAGO (1.877.244.2246), or visiting www.cityofchicago.org/tourism. Brochures and information on Chicago's exciting events and activities are also available at the Visitor Information Centers. The centers are located at Chicago Water Works, 163 East Pearson Street at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 East Randolph Street. For those calling from outside the United States, Mexico and Canada, please call 1-312-201-8847. The TTY toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1.866.710.0294.

The Chicago Office of Tourism, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, is the official City agency dedicated to promoting Chicago to domestic and international visitors and to providing innovative visitor programs and services.