Carpentersville, IL Indoor Activities

After occupying the old Comiskey Park for more than 80 years, the Chicago White Sox moved to their eponymous 40,000-seat stadium in 1991, later redubbed U.S. Cellular Field. Over the course of the club's rich history, it's managed to produce more than two dozen Hall of Famers, and its mascot, Southpaw, has long since held onto the naïve hope that he too will be inducted. In 2005, the White Sox rode eight consecutive postseason victories to their first World Series title since 1917, snapping an 88-year championship drought. And today, the team continues to excite fans as they enjoy field amenities that include street-festival-worthy concessions, an onsite sports bar, and an array of batting cages and baseball clinics.

The day's numerous events start at 8 a.m. with the EthniCity Soccer Finals, a 32-team amateur soccer tournament organized by nation, followed by the championships of the first-ever Chicago's Youth World Cup tournament at 10 a.m. The day's central event, the live broadcast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final, will be projected on the stadium's massive JumboTrons at 1:30 p.m. Other events include live entertainment featuring Brazilian samba, African drummers, graffiti dancers, and more. Before, after, or between events, enjoy the all-day wonders of the South African World Cup interactive village with cultural and soccery activities, as well as the all-day French Bastille Day village exhibit, which will feature a fashion show, French celebrities, and various guillotine-sliced foods.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater showcases the best of the Bard’s tragedy, comedy, and comitrageda, and the company received a 2008 Regional Theatre Tony Award for its consistently inventive Elizabethan reinventions. This performance of Romeo and Juliet is the company’s first in five years. Australian director Gale Edwards, who makes her CST debut after working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, leads a talented cast in one of theater’s most celebrated doomed loved stories. The rival families will feud, Juliet will coo from atop a balcony, and the pair will conspire to simultaneously end their careers as guidance counselors. Known for its trademark blend of tear-inducing tragedy, raunchiness, and masterfully crafted puns, Romeo and Juliet gets a respectfully traditional yet newly impassioned treatment at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Your ticket grants you access to Sunday's sumptuous food tastings, live cooking demonstrations, and wine tastings, as well as book signings and seminars. Delegate the tracking of the schedule to your stomach and your taste buds. Tasting pavilions are bursting with jaw-dropping mouth items from Jackie Shen of Red Light, Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia, Laurent Gras of L2O, Jimmy Banos Jr. of the Purple Pig, and more—click here to see the complete list of chefs, sommeliers, foodsmiths, taste-tamers, flavoristas, and speakers.

In 1928 the famous stage-acting couple Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt declared that from then on they would only appear onstage together. They also refused to act during the summer so they could spend the season at Ten Chimneys—their 60-acre estate retreat in the rolling hills of Kettle Moraine. Alfred had begun the construction himself in 1914, designing the first part of the three-story main house. In 1922 he and Lynn, newly married, began making additions: they converted the house's chicken coop into a private five-room country cottage and built a Swedish-style log cabin for use as a performance studio. Here, they lived and entertained a revolving cast of actors, writers, and artists until their retirement in 1960.

Today, trained docents lead small groups on tours through the cottage, the studio, and the main house's 18 rooms. Some of these confines bear unique titles such as the Flirtation Room, whereas others are named for past guests Helen Hayes, Laurence Olivier, and Noël Coward. Guides divulge the history behind many of the eclectic artifacts found there, such as Staffordshire figurines, pre-Civil War oil lamps, and Delft china, and reveal details about more personal pieces such as handmade gifts from Helen Hayes and Noël Coward, photographs with Charlie Chaplin, and murals painted by set designer Claggett Wilson. Outside, they lead visitors past a creamery and greenhouse, and point out a copper mermaid—designed and crafted by Cecil Beaton—that sits atop the estate's pool house to scare away sailors.

Throughout the year, Ten Chimneys hosts special theater-centric events. Play readings held in partnership with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater showcase the theater's interns as they read works connected to the Lunts or guests at their estate. During Music in the Drawing Room, cabaret artists from around the country gather around Noël Coward's historic piano to perform for small crowds and confuse unprepared time travelers. The estate also invites well-known local or national theater practitioners for a guest-speaker series inspired by the theater-minded talks that took place at the Lunts’ dining table.

Recurring dreams can often be brief and haunting. But 6 miles west of Lake Geneva at a large theater in the center of 40 acres of wooded trails, Dana Montana happily watches her lifelong dream unfold at least six nights a week. Here, she takes center stage to introduce up to 300 guests to her beloved purebred Arabian horses that majestically trot out to join her. They entertain audiences alongside expert acrobatic performers and trainers, whose resumés include stints with the Ringling Bros. Circus, Walt Disney World, and Arabian Nights.

Garbed in sparkling bridles and feather-plumed headdresses, the magnificent steeds wow the crowd with dazzling footwork and quotes from Shakespeare’s lesser-known horse plays. Montana’s park also presents guests with an exotic bird show, a petting zoo, and a wildlife trail that blooms with fiery colors each fall.