May 29–Jun. 1, 2025: Chicago Steampunk Exposition

What do you get when you combine a World’s Fair with retro-futuristic imagination? The Chicago Steampunk Exposition! For 2025, the convention theme of “The Curse of Cthulhu” will add a dimension of Lovecraftian weird horror. Throughout the weekend of May 29–June 1, 2025, the Expo will host talks, workshops, activities, and shopping for steampunk enthusiasts who enjoy imagining an alternate World’s Columbian Exposition with Gilded Age gothic adventures. The weekend includes live-action role-playing games; an afternoon tea; an Underground [...]

By Scott|2025-08-12T15:48:55-05:00May 4th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past), NEWS|1 Comment

Apr. 22, 2025: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (Carol Stream, IL)

Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Carol Stream, Illinois. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using vintage photographs, maps, and artwork. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world is “staff,” and why was it important to the Fair? [...]

By Scott|2025-05-23T16:44:57-05:00April 2nd, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Apr. 26, 2025: Help clean up Jackson Park (Chicago)

Jackson Park is hallowed ground for 1893 World’s Fair enthusiasts. To honor Earth Day, Friends of the Parks is sponsoring a clean-up day in Jackson Park and other Chicago parks on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This marks the 40th anniversary of Friends of the Parks’ citywide Earth Day cleanups. Whether you love spending time in Jackson Park or have never before visited, we invite you to join us on a team of volunteers to clean up Jackson Park East. [...]

By Scott|2025-05-23T16:45:20-05:00March 27th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Apr. 8, 2025: “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” (Hinsdale, IL)

Author Cindy Angell Keeling will offer a fascinating introduction to the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair in her presentation “Perspective of Wonder: A Tour of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition” on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Hinsdale, Illinois. In this entertaining presentation, Cindy will take you on a tour of the fairgrounds using vintage photographs, maps, and artwork. Which building had the most ostentatious dome? What in the world is “staff,” and why was it important to the Fair? Which [...]

By Scott|2025-04-11T09:41:44-05:00March 26th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Mar. 27–29, 2025: World’s Fair Women in “The Mammy Project” (Blue Lake, CA)

Nancy Green and Ida B. Wells, two women who played important and diverse roles in the 1893 World’s Fair, are the subject of a performance by Michelle Matlock playing in Blue Lake, CA, on Mar. 27–29, 2025. The Mammy Project, written and performed by Michelle Matlock, unearths the gritty truth behind the century-old icon of Aunt Jemima. This bandanna-wearing superstar of minstrel shows, Hollywood epics, and the breakfast nook is reimagined from her dark roots in the antebellum South, [...]

By Scott|2025-04-11T09:42:05-05:00March 25th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Apr. 12, 2025: “Daniel Burnham’s Chicago” (Glen Ellyn, IL)

He was one of Chicago’s greatest architects and served as Director of Works for the 1893 World’s Fair. Daniel Burnham will be portrayed by Terry Lynch in a presentation on April 12, 2025, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. Guests of “Daniel Burnham’s Chicago – A Dramatic Portrayal by Terry Lynch” will experience the grandeur of the Columbian Exposition and learn about its origins, exhibits, and the people and politics involved in creating the White City. As Burnham, [...]

By Scott|2025-05-23T16:45:28-05:00March 20th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Mar. 22, 2025: “Bertha Honoré Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” (Glen Ellyn, IL)

She was “The Queen of Chicago” and “The Queen of the Fair” in 1893. Bertha Honoré Palmer is the subject of a presentation by historian Laurie Russell on March 22, 2025, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. “Bertha Honore’ Palmer – A Life in Three Acts” will examine her legacy and impact on Chicago and around the world. Vintage photographs will illustrate Bertha Palmer’s life from early childhood, her marriage to hotel magnate Potter Palmer, the Great Chicago [...]

By Scott|2025-04-11T09:42:28-05:00March 19th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Mar. 24, 2025: “Fashion, Ferris Wheels, and Film: Dressing Women for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair” (Crest Hill, IL)

The White Oak Library District Crest Hill Branch is hosting a talk on “Fashion, Ferris Wheels, and Film: Dressing Women for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair” on March 24, 2025, at 7 pm. Kelli Marshall of Chicago Movie Tours will discuss how women navigated societal expectations while dressing for a day of excitement at one of America’s first amusement parks. Through the use of original photographs, vintage newspaper articles, and a virtual reality Ferris Wheel experience, she will explore [...]

By Scott|2025-04-11T09:42:44-05:00March 3rd, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|2 Comments

Jan. 25, 2025: “At Home at the Fair: Chicago Artists at the World’s Columbian Exposition” (Chicago)

The Vanderpoel Art Association will host a presentation “At Home at the Fair: Chicago Artists at the World’s Columbian Exposition” on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 1 p.m. Independent art historian Wendy Greenhouse will discuss what Chicago’s fine artists brought to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Although little noticed at the time and in posterity, Chicagoans contributed to the decoration of the exposition’s buildings and grounds and submitted significant paintings and sculptures to the vast but exclusive art exhibition [...]

By Scott|2025-03-18T12:08:06-05:00January 15th, 2025|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Jan 14, 2025: World’s Fair Auction #46 closes

World’s Fair Auction #46 is now open, and online bidding closes at 10:00 PM EST on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. The auction catalog can be viewed at: http://www.worldsfairauction.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi. Lots 6 through 36 are items related to the 1893 World’s Fair, and include: an invitation to the Dedication Day ceremonies; a china plate made in Germany depicting the Agricultural Building; a Marshall Field & Company silk showing the Court of Honor; a large selection of medals, coins, badges, and spoons; [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:46:00-06:00January 5th, 2025|Categories: ANTIQUES, EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Dec. 6-28, 2024: Joffrey Ballet’s “Columbian Nutcracker” (Chicago)

A festive Ferris Wheel, a Dream City, a flurry of snow, dancing dragons, dancing nuts, and dancing rats! It's that time of the year for Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet to stage their spectacular annual production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from December 6-28, 2023, at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Wacker Dr. in Chicago) This ballet by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which premiered in 2016, invites the audience to [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:46:20-06:00November 6th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past), THEATER|Tags: , |0 Comments

Nov. 9, 2024: “H. H. Holmes & New Links to Chicago & the White City” (Hazel Crest, IL, and online)

The South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society (SSGHS) will host a presentation on “H. H. Holmes & New Links to Chicago & the White City” at their meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Guest speaker Ray Johnson, known as “The History Cop,” will discuss his research into new links between killer H. H. Holmes and Thomas B. Bryan and Daniel H. Burnham, and a possible link to a swindle in England. The society meeting will take place from 10–11 [...]

By Scott|2025-01-20T09:40:51-06:00November 3rd, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Nov. 17, 2024: “MEET ME AT THE FAIR!: Music from the Great World’s Fairs” (Overland Park, KS)

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra will present MEET ME AT THE FAIR!: Music from the Great “World’s Fairs” on November 17, 2024, in Overland Park, KS. This concerts is a spectacular musical celebration of the legendary world’s fairs, including the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Music played a key role in these international festivals, launching both hit songs and the illustrious careers of many American musicians. This [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:47:06-06:00October 17th, 2024|Categories: AUDIO, EVENTS (past)|2 Comments

Oct. 23, 2024: Columbian Exposition food and lecture (Sewickly, PA)

The Sewickly Valley Historical Society (SVHS) in Sewickly, Pennsylvania, will host an evening of 1893 World’s Fair events on October 23, 2024. “A Bite of History: Chicago Columbian Exposition Edition” and a lecture on “From the Steel City to the White City” are part of their 2024–2025 Program Series. The evening will start at 5:30 pm with SVHS Executive Director, Amanda Schaffer as she introduces the foods being offered and their history with the 1893 Fair and beyond. Attendees [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:47:25-06:00October 15th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|0 Comments

Oct. 21, 2024: “An Author’s Journey” (Geneva, IL)

On Monday, October 21, 2024, the Geneva Public Library is hosting Folo Watkins, author of By Whale Road to the World's Fair. He will share his experience researching and writing about the journey of the Viking ship to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. This presentation is offered in conjunction with the exhibit of the dragon head (newly named "Freya") from the Viking ship. Watkins’s presentation is from 1–2 pm, in person at the Geneva Public Library District 2nd [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:47:42-06:00October 10th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Oct. 9, 2024: “Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893” adult learners course (Manchester, MI)

The Adult Learners Institute of Michigan will take participants to the 1893 World’s Fair on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. John Hauger will offer a class on “The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893” from 2–4 pm at the Manchester District Library (912 City Rd. in Manchester, Michigan). The Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in the New World, was a landmark event in United States history. Never before had this nation undertaken so [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:48:03-06:00September 24th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|2 Comments

Sep. 28, 2024: “The Viking Ship and the ‘Discovery’ of America” (online)

The Viking Ship is one of the most impressive relics from the 1893 World's Fair. Learn about the "Viking Ship and the 'Discovery' of America" at a webinar by Timothy Boyce hosted by the Swedish American Museum. This free costs $10 will be held online on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 10 am. To register, visit: https://swedishamericanmuseum.org/product/33525

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:48:30-06:00September 22nd, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Aug. 29, 2024: “The Women’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair” (Lima, OH)

The Allen County Museum in Lima, Ohio, will host a talk about the Woman’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition on August 29, 2024. Dr. David Strittmatter, Ohio Northern University Assistant Professor of History will present on “The Women’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair.” This talk is part of a lecture series accompanying The Art of Domesticity, a temporary exhibition focusing on the decorative arts from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as works by contemporary [...]

By Scott|2024-09-22T11:06:04-05:00August 20th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments

Sep. 15, 2024: “Walking the White City” tour (Chicago)

The Glessner House is offering a "Walking the White City" tour of the former fairgrounds of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition on Sunday, September 15, 2024, from 10 AM to noon. Architect and historian John Waters will guide participants on a walking tour of Jackson Park to see the sites of landmarks of the 1893 World's Fair, explore the fascinating vestiges, and learn how the Fair influenced the design of Jackson Park as we know it today. The tour [...]

By Scott|2024-09-23T08:17:36-05:00August 18th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past)|Tags: , |0 Comments

Aug. 13 – Nov. 2, 2024: “A Broader View: The 1893 Land Run in an Era of American Change” (Enid, OK)

The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, OK, is hosting an exhibition about 1893 Oklahoma and their relation to national events such as the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. “A Broader View: The 1893 Land Run in an Era of American Change” runs from August 13 through November 2, 2024, in the Mabee Foundation Gallery. Travel back in time through this immersive exhibit that offers a broader perspective surrounding the 1893 Land Run and other events taking place [...]

By Scott|2025-01-15T18:48:51-06:00August 14th, 2024|Categories: EVENTS (past), EXHIBITS (past)|Tags: |0 Comments
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