programs & events
There’s something for everyone at the Southeast Side parks! From festivals, to campouts, to climbing classes, check out all the exciting outdoor adventures we have planned in your community.
The Chicago Park District has adjusted its programs and events schedule in response to the modified Stay at Home order. Please note that all program dates are subject to change based on guidance from City and State public health officials.
Click on an event to see details and to RSVP.
Sponsored Community Climbs
10am-1pm
Steelworkers
Sponsored Community Climbs
Time
Saturday, July 24th
10am-1pm
Location
87th at S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60617
EVENT DETAILS
Join us for a facilitated community climbing event at Steelworkers Park. Ages 8 and up. Each event is brought to you by a different sponsor. CPD issued climbing equipment (harness, helmets and shoes) and facilitated use of the auto-belays is included.
All climbers must agree to a waiver, valid for 12 months.
FREE
Nature Exploration Saturdays
10am – 1pm
Big Marsh
Nature Exploration Saturdays
Time
Saturday, July 31st
10am – 1pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Visit the Big Marsh tent in front of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center to checkout FREE sanitized equipment such as binoculars, nature guides, butterfly nets, bug boxes and more to help you explore nature. As well as participate in other nature based games and activities.
FREE
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
5pm - 8pm
Big Marsh
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
Time
Tuesday, August 3rd
5pm - 8pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Short Track racing is a fun, low-key, competitive, off-road race. The course is ~1mile long. Racers will complete many laps of the course over a 20-30min race. Mountain bikes are ideal, but any off-road bike can be raced. All proceeds are donated to the park.
Cost
Cost: $15. Juniors race for free (but must have a signed USAC waiver from guardian). Additional races $5.
Singing Insects Soundwalk at Big Marsh Park
Evening
Big Marsh
Singing Insects Soundwalk at Big Marsh Park
Time
Wednesday, August 11th
Evening
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Eric Leonardson will lead the group through listening exercises during a short soundwalk which will then be followed by a singing insect monitor training and a second soundwalk led by Dr. Carl Strang. The Singing Insects monitoring program is a citizen science effort to familiarize people with common sounds of singing insects in the Chicago region, including grasshoppers, cicadas, katydids, and crickets. Building on Dr. Carl Strang’s work documenting species across 22 counties, the purpose of the project is to collect local baseline data and help people keep their ears perked for unusual insect calls each summer. Data collected is publicly available to anyone who wishes to use it, and walks are conducted informally site by site along a route prescribed by a surveyor.
FREE
Movies in the Park at Big Marsh (Black Panther)
8pm - 10:30pm
Big Marsh
Movies in the Park at Big Marsh (Black Panther)
Time
Saturday, August 14th
8pm - 10:30pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Join us in-person at Big Marsh Park for an outdoor screening of Black Panther.
BLACK PANTHER
T’Challa, the King of Wakanda (Chadwick Boseman), rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider (Michael B. Jordan) who was a childhood victim of T’Challa’s father’s mistake.
PG-13 | 134 minutes | 2018
*Closed Captioned
FREE
Start time is approximate, all movies begin at dusk.
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
5pm - 8pm
Big Marsh
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
Time
Tuesday, August 17th
5pm - 8pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Short Track racing is a fun, low-key, competitive, off-road race. The course is ~1mile long. Racers will complete many laps of the course over a 20-30min race. Mountain bikes are ideal, but any off-road bike can be raced. All proceeds are donated to the park.
Cost
Cost: $15. Juniors race for free (but must have a signed USAC waiver from guardian). Additional races $5.
Sponsored Community Climbs
10am-1pm
Steelworkers
Sponsored Community Climbs
Time
Saturday, August 21st
10am-1pm
Location
87th at S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60617
EVENT DETAILS
Join us for a facilitated community climbing event at Steelworkers Park. Ages 8 and up. Each event is brought to you by a different sponsor. CPD issued climbing equipment (harness, helmets and shoes) and facilitated use of the auto-belays is included.
All climbers must agree to a waiver, valid for 12 months.
FREE
Movies in the Park at Big Marsh (Jumanji: The Next Level)
8pm - 10pm
Big Marsh
Movies in the Park at Big Marsh (Jumanji: The Next Level)
Time
Saturday, August 28th
8pm - 10pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Join us in-person at Big Marsh Park for an outdoor screening of Jumanji: The Next Level.
JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL
As they return to rescue one of their own, the original players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
PG-13 | 123 minutes | 2019
*Closed Captioned
FREE
Start time is approximate, all movies begin at dusk.
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
5pm - 8pm
Big Marsh
Friends of Big Marsh: Short Track Series
Time
Tuesday, August 31st
5pm - 8pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Short Track racing is a fun, low-key, competitive, off-road race. The course is ~1mile long. Racers will complete many laps of the course over a 20-30min race. Mountain bikes are ideal, but any off-road bike can be raced. All proceeds are donated to the park.
Cost
Cost: $15. Juniors race for free (but must have a signed USAC waiver from guardian). Additional races $5.
Sponsored Community Climbs
10am-1pm
Steelworkers
Sponsored Community Climbs
Time
Saturday, September 18th
10am-1pm
Location
87th at S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60617
EVENT DETAILS
Join us for a facilitated community climbing event at Steelworkers Park. Ages 8 and up. Each event is brought to you by a different sponsor. CPD issued climbing equipment (harness, helmets and shoes) and facilitated use of the auto-belays is included.
All climbers must agree to a waiver, valid for 12 months.
FREE
Birds, Bikes, and Beats
2pm – 6pm
Big Marsh
Birds, Bikes, and Beats
Time
Saturday, September 25th
2pm – 6pm
Location
Big Marsh
11559 S. Stony Island Ave.
Chicago, IL 60633
EVENT DETAILS
Friends of Big Marsh presents the 4th celebration of all of the elements which make our space on the city’s Southeast Side so unique. Birds, Bikes, and Beats is a family-focused opportunity to learn about (and see!) the migratory birds of the Calumet and ride bikes through trails, while listening to live DJs.
For more information
FREE
Sponsored Community Climbs
10am-1pm
Steelworkers
Sponsored Community Climbs
Time
Saturday, October 23rd
10am-1pm
Location
87th at S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60617
EVENT DETAILS
Join us for a facilitated community climbing event at Steelworkers Park. Ages 8 and up. Each event is brought to you by a different sponsor. CPD issued climbing equipment (harness, helmets and shoes) and facilitated use of the auto-belays is included.
All climbers must agree to a waiver, valid for 12 months.
FREE
