A Year in Chicago

ByABC News
January 29, 2008, 7:04 PM

— -- Chicago has four distinct seasons, and an annual calendar of events to match them: winter (holidaying and hibernation), spring (heralded by dyeing the Chicago River green), summer (an all out party-hardy slate of festivals), and fall (generally good marathoning weather).

•January:Brrr! Pack your woolies and get used to hat head. The good news: there are lots of deals in the dead-of-winter offseason. And this in the month in which the city tourism officials put together themed visitor packages to entice out-of-towners to brave the cold. Check for seasonal specials at www.choosechicago.com and www.cityofchicago.org/tourism.

•February:Still cold, but louder, as Chinese New Year packs crowds in Chinatown for a parade of dragon dances to an ear-splitting soundtrack of firecrackers (free).

•March:Depending on your point of view, it's the wackiest or most eco-insensitive prank in city history. But St. Patrick's Day in Chicago calls for the dyeing of the Chicago River green by the plumber's union, followed by the St. Patrick's Day Parade through Grant Park. To keep all the local sots at their weekday desks, both events take place on the Saturday closest to the actual St. Patrick's Day (free).

•April:Welcome, the greening of Chicago. All is quiet, officially. Unofficially it's an outdoor celebration of garden-planting, lakefront bike rides and bird migrations north.

•May:The last weekend of the May kicks off summer festival season in the city as The Chicago Gospel Music Festival moves Millennium Park (free).

•June:

— Grant Park gets the blues, the big and raucous Chicago Blues Festival, the first weekend of June (free).

— For 10 days from late June through the July 4th holiday weekend, Taste of Chicago takes over Grant Park, clogging city arteries as well as those of fest-goers. The centerpiece of the festival is the dozens of food vendors represent restaurants around the city. In addition to nightly entertainment at the Petrillo Bandshell, Taste culminates with a Fourth of July concert featuring a marquee pop act (free admission).