The desk
Event sources
Official calendars this paper re-checks. We quote or link what the operator publishes, with a check date. We do not invent events. An empty calendar stays empty on the Events list.
Registry last updated September 17, 2026 (America/Chicago), when Avanté Banquets in Fox River Grove was added to Nearby. Last checked September 28, 2026: This check adds new October shows at Zanies, Allstate Arena (two more Wolves games), Rosemont Theatre, Metropolis, Big Noise Theatre, the Marriott Theatre and Durty Nellie’s, plus fall festivals, movie nights and family days from park districts, villages and libraries. Harmony Fest is October 2–3 (the earlier listing carried an old date), the Arlington Heights Farmers Market closes for the season October 17, Ela’s Storytime in the Park is October 8, and Long Grove’s DIY Scarecrow Day is a paid, registered event. Longer runs such as Sweeney Todd appear under Running now from their first night. The Des Plaines Theatre calendar could not be reached today, so its listings are unchanged. Ticketed farm days and indoor stops also live on Other attractions. Venue cards: Facilities.
- 1
Palatine
Palatine Park District — Calendar of Events
District-wide: Falcon, Birchwood, the Community Center, the amphitheater, and the rest of the brochure.
- 2
Palatine
Falcon Park Recreation Center
Rand and Hicks. Facility hours plus the Events and Programs tabs.
- 3
- 4
- 5
South Barrington
Goebbert’s SimpleTix listing
Online ticket inventory for the 2026 Fall Festival. Confirm it still matches the farm site.
- 6
Schaumburg
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago
Tickets, hours, and seasonal promos (Brick or Treat and the rest).
- 7
- 8
Arlington Heights
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre
Season calendar. Paid. Venue pages only — never reseller ticket URLs.
- 9
Elk Grove Village
Busse Woods (Ned Brown Forest Preserve)
Forest Preserves of Cook County. Preserve alerts and trail status. Search Busse Woods on the site.
- 10
Schaumburg
Woodfield Mall
Mall hours and seasonal events. The operator page did not load when we checked on September 15, 2026 — verify live.
- 11
Schaumburg
Andretti Indoor Karting & Games
Indoor karting, arcade, and laser tag. Hours and height rules on their site.
- 12
- 13
Des Plaines
Des Plaines Theatre — Events
Pull into This Week / events. Paid badge. Link only venue /event/... pages — never reseller ticket sites.
- 14
Hoffman Estates
NOW Arena
Concerts and sports. Paid. Prefer nowarena.com event pages over Live Nation alone.
- 15
Des Plaines
Big Noise Theatre (at Prairie Lakes Theater)
Season shows. Paid. Venue/company pages only.
- 16
South Barrington
Willow Creek Community Church — Concerts
Sporadic unaffiliated concerts. Paid when ticketed. Often empty — still check.
- 17
Palatine
Durty Nellie’s
Live music. Paid when ticketed. Prefer durtynellies.com over Eventbrite resellers.
- 18
Rosemont
Allstate Arena
Large arena. Paid. Prefer rosemont.com/allstate pages. Nearby / other — not a core suburb sheet.
- 19
- 20
Rosemont
Zanies Comedy Club — Rosemont
Comedy. Paid. Prefer zanies.com / Rosemont club pages. Nearby / other.
- 21
Highland Park
Ravinia Festival
Outdoor festival. Paid. Prefer ravinia.org. Nearby / other — North Shore; not Chicago proper; not Evanston.
- 22
Lincolnshire
Marriott Theatre
Season musicals. Paid. Venue pages only. Nearby / other — North Shore. The calendar page is slow — give it time to load, and if it fails, nothing from it is listed.
- 23
Fox River Grove
Avanté Banquets
Banquet / conference house. Desk pick. Nearby / other — Fox River Grove, west of Barrington Road, not a core suburb sheet. Private bookings (weddings, quinceañeras, corporate).
What this list is
A public copy of the calendars the Events and Other attractions desks actually open. If a calendar is blank, the Events list stays blank. Hours and “what’s on” blurbs belong on the operator’s page — we copy them with a date, or we link and stop. We do not invent a concert because a venue exists.
A named venue should already have a card on Resources or Other attractions the day we find them. Rosemont and Ravinia sit on Nearby venues, not core suburb sheets. The venue cards themselves live on Facilities.
The registry date is when this list gained or lost a calendar, not a promise that every URL was read that hour. Each check opens every row, compares it with the dates on Other attractions, and leaves an empty calendar empty. A named venue needs a Facilities card (address and official URL) before an event from that calendar is treated as ready. New sources go on this list the day we find them — never only in a chat. Calendars are checked every other day, early morning, America/Chicago.