Chicago Did Its Usual Bang-Up Job Welcoming the Outdoor Season

Bob Benenson
May 25
1 min read

Memorial Day Weekend Kicked Off the Twice-Weekly Navy Pier Fireworks

In the nearly 14 years since Barb and I moved into our highrise Chicago apartment on the lakeshore, we have been privileged to enjoy the wonders of nature right outside our windows. But we also have a skybox view of some man-made moments as well.

These includes the fireworks displays over Navy Pier, a clear shot four miles down the lakefront, which each year begin the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and are delivered each Saturday and Wednesday nights until Labor Day weekend.

The fireworks this past Saturday (May 24) marked the unofficial kickoff of the Chicago region's summer outdoor season. While it often feels like early summer by the time we get to late May, this isn't one of those years: For more than a week, high temperatures have mostly lingered in the 50s, as much as 20 degrees below the historic average.

Nonetheless, summer's warmth will inevitably come soon enough. In the meantime, we'll always have fireworks.