Family-Friendly Weekend Events: July 30

One thing we can all appreciate more than ever after the last 18 months is sitting in the audience at a live performance. Musicians, actors and performers are all eagerly returning to the stage. If you haven’t found a time to sit outside on a summer evening and listen to live music, add it to your weekend plans. Our 2021 Summer Concerts Guide is full of details to help you find a spot near you. There’s something truly exhilarating about the cheers of the audience at a live show.

While these events have been running all summer long, this weekend is also full of special performances. Oak Park’s PDOP Musical Theatre Presents: Little Mermaid Jr., Forest Park’s Shakespeare in the Park, or the awe-inspiring Cirque Italia at the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll love being back in the theater seats.

This weekend planner is sponsored by Academic Coaching and Tutoring and DuPage Children’s Museum.

Academic Coaching and Tutoring

Kimberly Coniglio from Academic Coaching and Tutoring is holding math and reading review sessions for 3rd to 8th grade (additional grades available on request) the week of August 9. The 75 minute sessions run Monday through Friday online and at her Wheaton location. Group Preview Packages are $149 and Private Preview Packages are $375. Call (630) 341-2923 to reserve your spot.

Transportation Zoo; a “Semi” Touch-A-Truck Event

This Saturday, July 31 from 9am-1pm you can get up-close to a variety of vehicles in the DuPage Children’s Museum parking lot. Explore big vehicles that dig, dump, push, scoop, and transport, including Navistar’s International LoneStar Class 8 Truck, Groot’s Residential Garbage Truck, and Ozinga’s Cement Mixer. Some vehicles will be on display while others will allow children to sit behind the wheel, climb in the back, or perch on the bumpers. Drivers and operators will be on hand to answer questions and explain how things work.

Pre-registration is required. Transportation Zoo is included with Museum admission or membership. Admission to DuPage Children’s Museum is $15 for adults and children age one and older, and $14 for seniors age 59+; it’s free for members and children under the age of one year. Learn more and get tickets at dupagechildrens.org/transportation-zoo.

Fun Things To Do With Kids This Weekend and Beyond

Please check the details before you go to ensure you know about registration requirements and additional safety measures to ensure you maximize your family’s fun. While we do our best to keep the most up-to-date information in our calendar, last minute location or time changes do happen.

Friday

Elmhurst is the place to be on Friday morning with Pop-Up Party in the Park at Wilder Park or Safety Town Open Road. Fridays afternoons are for the farm with Escape the Farm at Primrose Farm in St. Charles, Family Adventure on the Farm at McDonald Farm in Naperville, or Tractor-Drawn Wagon Rides at St. James Farm in Warrenville.

Pickup Program (Downers Grove Public Library)
July 30, 2021 | all day

Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt (Downers Grove Public Library)
July 30, 2021 | all day

July Jamboree of Anniversaries (St. Charles)
July 30, 2021 | all day

Summer Parks and Tails to Trails Challenge (Bolingbrook)
July 30, 2021 | all day

Passport to the Parks (Woodridge)
July 30, 2021 | all day

Schaumburg Farmers Market
July 30, 2021 | 7:00am – 1:00pm

St. Charles Outdoor Farmers Market
July 30, 2021 | 8:00am – 1:00pm

SummerBurst (Kohl Children’s Museum, Glenview)
July 30, 2021 | 8:30am – 3:15pm

Pop-Up Party in the Park (Wilder Park, Elmhurst)
July 30, 2021 | 9:00am – 11:00am

Safety Town Open Road (Elmhurst)
July 30, 2021 | 9:00am – 10:30am

Tot-N-Trucks (Prospect Park, Clarendon Hills)
July 30, 2021 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

Summer Drop-In Playgrounds (Elgin)
July 30, 2021 | 10:00am – 3:00pm

Fun Fridays (ARC Center, West Chicago)
July 30, 2021 | 11:00am – 12:00pm

Midday Spray (Rotary Hill, Naperville)
July 30, 2021 | 11:00am – 1:00pm

Escape the Farm (Primrose Farm, St. Charles)
July 30, 2021 | 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Self-Guided Outdoor Architecture Tour (Elmhurst Art Museum)
July 30, 2021 | 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Summer Storytime at the Museum (Little White School Museum, Oswego)
July 30, 2021 | 12:00pm – 12:30pm

Tractor-Drawn Wagon Rides (St. James Farm, Warrenville)
July 30, 2021 | 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Elgin Farmers Market
July 30, 2021 | 3:00pm – 7:00pm

Family Adventure on the Farm (McDonald Farm, Naperville)
July 30, 2021 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Chapter Book Club (Brookfield Public Library)
July 30, 2021 | 4:00pm – 4:45pm

Daddy-Daughter Date Night (Clarendon Hills)
July 30, 2021 | 6:00pm – 7:15pm

STC Live (St. Charles)
July 30, 2021 | 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Roselle Cruise Nights
July 30, 2021 | 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Twilight Skate Park Bash (Bartlett)
July 30, 2021 | 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Taste of Roselle (Roselle)
July 30, 2021 | 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Legends and Lagers (Red Oak Nature Center, Batavia)
July 30, 2021 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Cirque Italia (Chicago Premium Outlets, Aurora)
July 30, 2021 | 7:30pm – 9:30pm

A Night at the Movies (95th Street Community Plaza, Naperville)
July 30, 2021 | 8:30pm

Movie in the Park (Cantigny Park, Wheaton)
July 30, 2021 | 8:30pm

Saturday

Be one with nature this Saturday as you enjoy a Nature Walk at Danada HQ in Wheaton, or the Nature Center Open House at Lake View Nature Center in Oakbrook Terrace, which runs monthly. Children’s museums are a must this summer! Stop by SummerBurst, which has been running all summer long at Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview. Or reserve your spot for DuPage Children’s Museum’s Transportation Zoo, which is running this Saturday only.

Discovery Bag PickUp (Downers Grove Public Library)
July 31, 2021 | all day

Absolute Science (Clarendon Hills Public Library)
July 31, 2021 | all day

Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt (Downers Grove Public Library)
July 31, 2021 | all day

July Jamboree of Anniversaries (St. Charles)
July 31, 2021 | all day

Summer Parks and Tails to Trails Challenge (Bolingbrook)
July 31, 2021 | all day

Passport to the Parks (Woodridge)
July 31, 2021 | all day

Downers Grove Farmer’s Market
July 31, 2021 | 7:00am – 12:30pm

Naperville Farmer’s Market (5th Avenue Station)
July 31, 2021 | 7:00am – 12:00pm

Oak Park Farmers Market
July 31, 2021 | 7:30am – 1:00pm

Aurora Farmers Market
July 31, 2021 | 8:00am – 12:00pm

Batavia’s Farmers’ Market
July 31, 2021 | 8:00am – 12:00pm

Brookfield Farmers Market
July 31, 2021 | 8:00am – 1:00pm

Lisle Farmers Market
July 31, 2021 | 8:00am – 1:00pm

Wheaton French Market
July 31, 2021 | 8:00am – 2:00pm

SummerBurst (Kohl Children’s Museum, Glenview)
July 31, 2021 | 8:30am – 3:15pm

Transportation Zoo (DuPage Children’s Museum, Naperville)
July 31, 2021 | 9:00am – 1:00pm
Must register in advance.

Sunday

Is anyone else’s family loving the Olympics? Even the best athletes in the world have to practice. Stop by the Gear Up for Safety event at Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove, where your child can brush up on bike safety basics. Then swing by the Trailside Museum of Natural History in River Forest for their Animal Olympics Drop-In, or putt like the pros at Stone Creek’s Mini Golf Tournament in Geneva.

Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt (Downers Grove)
August 1, 2021 | all day

July Jamboree of Anniversaries (St. Charles)
August 1, 2021 | all day

Summer Parks and Tails to Trails Challenge (Bolingbrook)
August 1, 2021 | all day

Passport to the Parks (Woodridge)
August 1, 2021 | all day

Glen Ellyn French Market
August 1, 2021 | 8:00am – 1:00pm

SummerBurst (Kohl Children’s Museum, Glenview)
August 1, 2021 | 8:30am – 3:15pm

Burr Ridge Farmers Market
August 1, 2021 | 9:00am – 1:00pm

Geneva French Market
August 1, 2021 | 9:00am – 2:00pm

Oswego Country Market
August 1, 2021 | 9:00am – 1:00pm

Western Springs French Market
August 1, 2021 | 9:00am – 1:00pm

Animal Olympics Drop-In (Trailside Museum of Natural History, River Forest)
August 1, 2021 | 9:00am – 5:00pm

Outdoor Yoga (Western Springs)
August 1, 2021 | 10:00am – 11:00am

Gear Up for Safety (Indian Boundary YMCA, Downers Grove)
August 1, 2021 | 10:00am – 12:00pm

Boating in the Park (Lake Ellyn, Glen Ellyn)
August 1, 2021 | 12:00pm – 4:00pm

Taste of Roselle (Roselle)
August 1, 2021 | 12:00pm – 8:00pm

Farm Power (Kline Creek Farm, West Chicago)
August 1, 2021 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Cirque Italia (Chicago Premium Outlets, Aurora)
August 1, 2021 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Mini Golf Tournament (Stone Creek Mini Golf, Geneva)
August 1, 2021 | 2:00pm – 5:00pm

PDOP Musical Theatre Presents (Oak Park)
August 1, 2021 | 2:30pm – 4:00pm

Summer Concert Series (Cantigny Park, Wheaton)
August 1, 2021 | 3:00pm – 4:30pm

Sunday Cruise Nights at the Sonic Drive-In (Villa Park)
August 1, 2021 | 4:00pm – 8:00pm

Cirque Italia (Premium Outlets of Chicago, Aurora)
August 1, 2021 | 4:30pm – 6:30pm

Scout Family Nights (Hinsdale Pool)
August 1, 2021 | 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Shakespeare in the Park (Forest Park)
August 1, 2021 | 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Concerts in the Park (Darien)
August 1, 2021 | 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Concerts in Your Park (Wolf’s Crossing Community Park, Naperville)
August 1, 2021 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Looking Ahead…

Find even more family-friendly events on our newly updated events calendar!

You might also be interested in…

The Big Map of Things to Do with Kids

Guide to Summer Festivals

Ultimate Guide to Parks and Playgrounds in the Western Suburbs

2021 Summer Camp Guide

Guide to Farmers Markets and French Markets with Printable Schedule

Updated Guide to the Best Kids Birthday Party Places, Ideas, Entertainment, Decor

Find the Right Preschool and Daycare for Your Family

Your Local Guide to Kids Eat Free

We hope you found some family-friendly fun in our list of weekend events in the western suburbs of Chicago! This list is updated every week and sent out in the Kidlist emails. (Click here to sign up if you haven’t already.)

We love local businesses, libraries, park districts, villages, and organizations- they plan great events for all of us to enjoy. If you are hosting an event or know of an event that should be on our list, click here to submit it to the Kidlist calendar!

We strive to be the most comprehensive source for family fun, which is why you’ll always see so many weekend events listed instead of just picking what our family likes or only including what sponsors want us to. It would definitely be easier to just list the details for a few events and call them “the best weekend events for families”, but we recognize that everyone has different interests. Not to mention, sometimes I’m in the mood to go to a huge festival and sometimes I’d rather go to a low key storytime at the library. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. That’s why we work hard and spend a lot of time to find everything going on in our area so you don’t have to! We hope you find it helpful and we are open to suggestions. The Kidlist Team always talks about how we can improve and evolve to meet your needs, so let us know!

Family-Friendly Weekend Events: July 30–August 1 and Beyond