The Chicago Traveler

• The African Festival of the Arts is Chicago’s largest neighborhood festival, featuring three music stages, ethnic cuisine, and more than 300 vendors selling everything from fine art to skin care products. Presentations include book discussions and dance workshops. (Aug 29 – Sept 1)

• The 30^th annual Chicago Jazz Festival is the city’s longest-running lakefront music festival and features local, national, and international performers on several stages. (Aug 28-31)

• Get your fill of pierogi, Polish sausage, and sauerkraut at the Taste of Polonia, where you can listen to live bands play everything from rock to polka. (Aug 29 – Sept 1)

• Dedicated to non-violence, the Peace on Earth Film Festival features documentaries about environmental issues, gang violence, Iraqi women’s rights, and more. (Aug 29-31)

• You’ve never had a train ride like this. An eight-car Orange Line train is transformed into a mobile art exhibit for Art on Track. View works by local artists as the train circles around the Loop. (Aug 30)

• The Bash on Wabash celebrates the Labor Day weekend with local artwork, live music, food from local restaurants, and kids’ activities. (Aug 30-31)

• The Chicago Cultural Center’s exhibit, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, features artworks of the blonde babe by several artists, including Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Bert Stein, and more. (Ends Sept 21)

• It’s not easy being a Cubs fan. Wait ‘til Next Beer is a comedy sketch show that explores what gives Wrigley regulars their comfort: beer. And, in true Cubs fashion, the theater features beer vendors ($12 buckets of Bud, $8 buckets of PBR). (Ends Aug 30)

• Chicago hosts the Nike+ Human Race along with 24 other cities around the world. (Nike website best viewed in Internet Explorer.) The 10K race follows Lake Shore Drive and then heads back to Soldier Field. After the run, enjoy live music by Fall Out Boy. (Aug 31)

Photo credit: City of Chicago, (c/o Flickr) Kramchang, Jeremy Brooks