An Archive of Past Events
Relating to the 1893 World’s Fair
April 16, 2018: World’s Fair Auction in Cleveland
A large collection of 1893 World’s Fair antiques and collectibles will be going under the hammer on Monday, April 16. Gray’s Auctioneers “World's Fair Memorabilia and Collectibles” live auction in Cleveland, Ohio, starts at 11 AM (EDT) and features more than thirty Columbian Exposition items. Lots 20 through 51 include … • numerous pieces of decorative glassware, pottery and porcelain, including set of beautiful Libby glass peachblow rose bowls and a pair of ornate vases featuring images of the U.S. Government Building (an early rendering) and the Electricity Building; • metal novelties, including a Columbus clock, bank, pocket watch, [...]
April 10-14, 2018: Food of the Fair Week at the Union League Club of Chicago
Members of the storied Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC) will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition with “Food of the Fair” week from April 10-14, 2018. Chef de cuisine Doug D’Avico will take diners in the Club’s Wigwam restaurant “on a culinary journey through the World’s Fair of 1893,” creating a three-course dinner of foods from the Columbian Exposition “with a ULCC twist.” What fair foods might the chef offer? Aunt Jemima pancakes, Quaker Oats, or Shredded Wheat? Tamales or Vienna Beef? Palmer House brownies, Cracker Jack, or Juicy Fruit Gum? Pabst “Blue Ribbon” beer [...]
March 23/25, 2018: Lecture on Composer Amy Beach (Boston)
Composer and pianist Amy Beach (1867-1944) made significant musical contributions to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition commissioned Beach to compose her Festival Jubilate (Op. 17) for the dedication of the Woman’s Building in October of 1892. This was her first commissioned work and reportedly is the first known work of an American woman composer commissioned in the U.S. “Why Amy Beach Matters” is the title of a lecture and musical performance to be held on March 23 and 25 in the Boston area. Musicologist Liane Curtis, violinist Carol Cubberley, [...]
Mar. 23-Aug. 29, 2018-Exhibit Showcases Mexicans at the 1893 World’s Fair
An upcoming exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago features the early artistic involvement and influence of Mexican immigrants in Chicago beginning with the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Arte Diseño Xicágo: Mexican Inspiration from the World's Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era opens on Friday, March 23, 2018, with a reception from 6–8 pm, and continues through August 19, 2018, in the Main Gallery. One of the earliest proponents of holding a world’s fair to mark the quadricentennial of Columbus’ arrival on the continent was a Mexican physician, Dr. Carlos W. Zaremba, who proposed that [...]
Mar. 16, 2018-Apr. 28, 2019: World’s Fair “Mummies” at the Field Museum
Mummies that were on display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition are back in Chicago after a 6-year national tour. The exhibition "Mummies" opens at the Field Museum on Friday, March 16, 2018, and showcases artifacts from ancient Egypt and ancient Peru. Some of the ancient mummy artifacts on display at the 1893 World's Fair. [from The Catalogue of the Cliff-Dwellers Exhibit (H. Jay Smith Exploring Company, 1893).] After the close of the 1893 World’s Fair, mummies that had been part of the anthropology exhibit entered the collection of the Columbian Museum of Chicago (the original name of what [...]
March 16, 2018: 1893 Scavenger Hunt in the Chicago Loop
If you love learning about the history of the 1893 World’s Fair, are passionate about Chicago architecture, enjoy puzzles, and want to stretch your legs, then don’t miss out on “Glitz, Glamour…and Panic! A Hunt for the History of 1893 in Chicago.” Atlas Obscura Chicago Field Agent Patti Swanson is once again hosting her "Google-proof" scavenger hunt in the Chicago Loop on Friday, March 16, 2018. You will meet on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago (née World’s Congress Auxiliary Building), next to Edward Kemeys' lions, where Patty will hand your team a set of clues built [...]
March 8, 2018: Union League Club of Chicago lecture on “The Columbian Exposition”
The Union League Club of Chicago (ULCC) is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the 1893 World's Fair with a presentation by Greg Cook titled "The World's Columbian Exposition and its Transformation of Chicago Architecture" on Thursday, March 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Union League Club (65 Jackson Boulevard in Chicago). The Union League Club of Chicago. [Image from https://www.facebook.com/ULCChicago/] A cocktail reception with a cash bar and light appetizers will start at 5:30 pm and feature a display of the Union League Club's recently conserved prints from Hubert Howe Bancroft’s The Book of the Fair and other archival artifacts from the [...]
Feb. 7, 2018: Des Plaines History Center “World’s Fair” event for children
"The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 exhibited important cultural ideas including innovations in architecture and the fine arts, just to name a few! At the time, it was the world’s biggest fair," writes the Des Plaines History Center, which will be holding a event called "Homeschool Adventures: World’s Columbian Exposition (The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893)" from 1-2 pm on February 7, 2018. The Center invites children ages 5-12 with adult, to "come learn about the fair and create your very own White City out of mixed media." Located at 781 Pearson Street in Des Plaines, IL, the Des Plaines History Center [...]
Nov. 30-Dec. 29, 2019: Joffrey Ballet’s “Columbian Nutcracker” (Chicago)
Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet once again will stage their spectacular production of The Nutcracker, with story set on the fairgrounds of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Performances run from November 30 to December 29, 2019, at the Auditorium Theater. This ballet by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, which premiered in 2016, invites the audience to … “journey inside Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair with Wheeldon’s critically acclaimed holiday masterpiece. When young Marie and her mother, a sculptress who is creating the fair’s iconic Statue of the Republic, host a holiday party, a surprise visit from the charming Great Impresario sets off a Christmas Eve [...]
Dec. 1-30, 2017 (Chicago): Joffrey Ballet returns to the Fair
Chicago's Joffrey Ballet will be returning to the Columbian Exposition with their 2017 production of The Nutcracker, running from December 1 to 30 at the Auditorium Theater. This spectacular ballet by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon premiered in 2016 and invites the audience to ... "journey inside Chicago's 1893 World's Fair with Wheeldon's critically acclaimed holiday masterpiece. When young Marie and her mother, a sculptress who is creating the fair's iconic Statue of the Republic, host a holiday party, a surprise visit from the charming Great Impresario sets off a Christmas Eve dream of whirlwind romance and adventure. A must-see tradition [...]