January - Annual New Year's Day 5K Run/Walk
Around 1500 runners and walkers start the new year on a healthy footing at Lincoln Park.
February - Chicago Restaurant Week
10 days of prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at over 200 eateries, enabling visitors to try out a variety of food.
March - Saturday 17 Mar 2012
The Chicago River is dyed green, bars serve green beer and a parade follows around The Loop and Grant Park.
April - Easter Egg Hunt
Reed Keppler Park hosts an annual egg hunt with prizes for 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 year olds.
May - Kids and Kites Festival
Free family event at Montrose Harbour with food stalls and free kites for kids without their own.
June - Wells Street Art Festival
Over 250 juried artists with work in many forms, plus a music stage and a silent auction.
July - Taste of Chicago
Reputedly the world's largest food festival with around 3 million people trying culinary delights at Grant Park.
August - Chicago Jazz Festival
This free festival is a long-running Labor Day tradition, set within the Cultural Centre at Millennium Park.
September - Mexican Independence Day Parade
Downtown West Chicago celebrates with a parade down Joliet Street, plus music, food and piñatas.
October - Columbus Day Parade
Enjoy the fun, watch more than 150 floats and bands as they march down State Street.
November - Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light
The Museum of Science and Industry brings a world of holiday displays and traditions to Chicago.
December - Lincoln Square Christkindl Market
A community German-style Christmas market with stalls, a beer tent, music and carols.