Enjoy spring with an art festival!

As the flowers bloom and the school year starts to come to a close across the state, it is now the perfect time to go out with family and friends and enjoy an art festival!

During May, farmer’s markets, cities, villages and more come together to provide the community with an opportunity to partake in family friendly events, see wonderful art and support their local artists.

Check out our list below of art festival throughout Illinois this May:

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National Cartoon Day: Jack Higgins

May 5 is National Cartoonist Day. Did you know Illinois was home to Jack Higgins, a Pulitzer Prize- winning cartoonist?

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Chicago Ferris wheel origin

Throughout spring, summer, and fall months, you can experience the joys of modern day carnivals. You can experience everything from rides, animals, food, and so much more. One of the prominent parts of a carnival is a Ferris wheel. Today, hundreds of Ferris wheels tower over cities and fairgrounds around the world. Today’s wheels are very different from the original wheel, which originated in Chicago during the World’s Fair of 1893.

George Washington Ferris Jr. was a civil engineer specializing in bridges and other structural-steel designs when Chicago announced a competition for a centerpiece for its 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.  Ferris proposed building a 264-foot wheel with suspended carriages that could take 2,160 passengers at a time for a bird’s-eye view of the fairgrounds. Ferris was declared the contest winner — and his success would attach his name to all subsequent versions of the device, including the new Ferris wheel.  

In 1893, Ferris certainly gave Chicago what they were looking for. Ferris’ contraption rotated on a 71-ton, 45-foot axle that had, at the time, the world’s largest hollow forging.

Although the original wheel was not preserved, Ferris’ idea lives on at small town carnivals and at major landmark attractions across the globe. In addition, the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier shares a few similarities with the original: its gondolas are larger and enclosed and its height is closer to the original’s dazzling 264 feet. Get out, ride the wheel, and remember the history!

Illinois History Day

May 1, 2025 is Illinois History Day! Illinois was discovered in 1673 by explorer Louis Jolliet and Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette when they floated down the great Mississippi, returning up the Illinois River and crossed the portage to Lake Michigan where Chicago now stands.

Cahokia, Illinois' first permanent European settlement, was established in 1699 along the Mississippi River across from what is now St. Louis. The French and Indian War, or Seven Years' War, came to an end in 1763 with a victory for Britain, which gains control over the Illinois country. With the end of the American Revolution in 1783, Illinois became territory of the United States − technically part of the state of Virginia. Illinois would later join the Union on Dec. 3, 1818 – becoming the 21^st state.

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