Mozart Concert in Millenium Park August 10

Millennium Park's (and Chicago's) most recognizable feature is "The Bean" or "Cloud Gate" depending on which side of city hall you are on.  Created by Anish Kapoor, "The Bean" is  beautiful and much beloved by tourists and natives alike.  It weighs a whopping total of 110 pounds and pleasantly distorts and reflects, making it the perfect photo op for solo tourists and an amusing past time for children.  

The three rules of any free Chicago event: get there early, claim your spot, protect it with you life.

Summers in Chicago are jam-packed full of events, they over lap and run into each other competing for space and attendance.  The free summer concerts put on in Pritzker Pavilion are always well attended.  The crowd largely depends on the performer, so if Iron and Wine or She and Him are playing you can expect 20 somethings in mustaches, flannel, and polka dots to be in attendance.  If, on the other hand, you have the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart and Strauss make room for the retirees, their mini picnic tables, their lawn chairs, their wine, and their snobbery.  Some of the comments are group of 25 friends received:  "Why didn't they just go to the beach?" "They obviously can't appreciate this..." Mostly they communicated through dirty looks and under the breath murmurs but some of the septuagenarians were ready to get violent, front row space is a hot commodity on a Millennium Music night.