Inspired Chicago - Find fun things to do in Chicago!

Chicago's free Lincoln Park Zoo offers many wonderful events for its visitors year-round, but this October is especially bountiful. Think pumpkins, sculpture tours, Halloween festivities, and more. Fall Fest at Lincoln Park Zoo On October 2–4, 9–12, and 16–18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Lincoln Park Zoo will host its first-ever festival to celebrate the fall harvest season. A corn maze, pumpkin bounce house, hayride, and Ferris wheel are a few of the fun attractions that await visitors. Admission is free. Some attractions require tickets ($3 for 1, $27 for 10, and $51 for 20). Pumpkins will be sold at the zoo's pumpkin patch throughout October. To get the entire list of activities, please visit the zoo's Fall Fest web page. Second Saturdays Garden Tours On the second Saturday of each month, from April through October, Lincoln Park Zoo offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the beautiful plants that fill the zoo's gardens. Tours feature new plants and areas

More than 200 sites are opening their doors to Chicagoans and visitors alike during the October 17–18 weekend. The public is invited into these buildings as part of the Chicago Architecture Foundation's (CAF) annual Open House Chicago (OHC). Each year, OHC guests enjoy behind-the-scenes access to many of the city's great places. When reviewing the OHC website and planning which places to visit, please be aware of the following: While all sites are free, a few require an RSVP (RSVPs are not available at this time. Please check the OHC website for updates.). Photo by Mark Ballogg via OHC Website A small number of sites are open exclusively to CAF members. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers via OHC Website OHC hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. However, some sites have limited hours and/or may be open only one of the two days. Photo by Eric Allix Rogers via OHC Website In addition to granting visitors a look inside their spa

This year's Hyde Park Jazz Festival is Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27. Admission. All performances are free and open to the public. However, each attendee is encouraged to make a $5 donation. With a $125 donation, the festival provides a Jazz Pass, which entitles the holder to preferred seating at the Hyde Park Union Church, International House, Kenwood Academy, Logan Performance Hall, and Rockefeller Chapel venues. Venues. Performances will take place at 12 locations throughout Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, with Little Black Pearl, 1060 East 47th Street, as the northernmost venue and the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 East 60th Street, as the southernmost venue. The festival provides a free bus service between venues. The comprehensive 2015 Hyde Park Jazz Festival Venues map shows venues, bus routes, Divvy stations, refreshment vendors, and more. Schedule . Please note that, due to limited seating, Logan Cen

Stop by Navy Pier Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27, to bid a fond "Ferrwell" to the Ferris wheel. The current Ferris wheel, installed in 1995, will soon be removed to make way for a new Ferris wheel, which will be installed in time for Navy Pier's centennial in 2016. In addition to receiving a free Ferris wheel ride and saying a final good-bye to the wheel, attendees can try free samples of signature items from some of Navy Pier's new and existing restaurants. Rides will be free from 10 p.m. Saturday to 9:45 a.m. Sunday. Samples will be available from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Navy Pier will be posting a schedule for the restaurant samples. For additional event info and to check for the schedule, please visit Navy Pier's  event announcement page. When Mayor Emanuel and Navy Pier jointly announced the new Ferris wheel on June 23, 2015, Navy Pier also provided some fun facts about the Ferris wheel. 13 Things You Didn't Know

The 2015 World Music Festival Chicago is in full swing and continues through September 22. Admission. Admission is free. However, some performances are designated ages 18+ or 21+. Please check the schedule for events that have age requirements. Venues. Events will take place at 15 locations throughout the city, with the northernmost venue at Mayne Stage, 1328 West Morse Avenue, and the southernmost venue at the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 East 60th Street. Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music. Want to pull an all-nighter? From 8 p.m. on Friday, September 18, to 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, the festival offers just such an opportunity. Both Hindustani (north) and Carnatic (south) music will be represented. The ragas that will be performed were originally composed to be performed during the night and early morning. If you're concerned about going 12 hours without sustenance, there's no need to worry. Bombay Wraps

The 37th edition of the Chicago Jazz Festival ran from September 3 through September 6, with performances at the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park. Several of the performances brought me back to when I first discovered, and fell in love with, jazz. I attended a music appreciation class with a friend. It was a night class and she needed someone to walk home with when her usual classmate was unable to attend. That evening, I was introduced to the jazz of Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and others. I loved it immediately! My husband and I began our jazz fest experience on Thursday afternoon by taking in two performances in the Chicago Cultural Center's beautiful Preston Bradley Hall. Pianist Ben Waltzer led the first group that took the stage, which included Bill McHenry (tenor saxophone), Marquis Hill (trumpet), Yosef Ben Israel (double bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). I particularly enjoyed the group's rendition of blues and jazz pianist Art Hod