At 4:30 on a weekday afternoon, the Chicago History Museum at 1601 N. Clark St. closes. From November 20, ZooLights opens at that same 4:30 every night it runs. For the next six weeks, Old Town's north edge hands its daylight program straight to its nighttime one. Over those same weeks, the neighborhood's calendar works its way south. It reaches Wells Street over Thanksgiving week, and the neighborhood's own part of it wraps up on December 3 at Burton Place Plaza.
Most items on that calendar have two prices. The same evening can be free or cost full fare, depending on the date and on whether you reserved a week ahead. The season goes in order below, starting at the corner where it opens.
The Museum Goes First, With a Free Thursday
The Chicago History Museum lists November 19 as an Illinois-resident free day. That Thursday is the day before ZooLights opens to the public. The museum shows no December free day on its calendar. On any other day, adult admission is $19 for Chicago residents and $24 for adults from outside the city. Seniors and students pay $20 or $17, and Illinois residents 18 and under get in free.
The free day lands while several shows are running:
- Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing shows clothing and artifacts connected to John Adams, George and Martha Washington, and Abraham and Mary Lincoln, with a focus on conservation. It runs through July 18, 2027.
- Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s brings together more than 100 posters, fliers, signs, buttons, newspapers, magazines and books, along with work by contemporary artivists. It closes January 31, 2027, so it's the one with a clock on it.
- Dorian Sylvain's response to the Thirteenth Amendment fills the lobby from October through December. It's part of the museum's US at 250 program.
The museum's event calendar is busy in the same weeks. It lists a free screening of Making Waves: Battle for the Great Lakes on November 14, a free screening of Bob Dole: A Walk Through History on November 18, and Rock the Museum on November 21. The building is closed Mondays and on Thanksgiving.
A ZooLights Night Costs Between Nothing and $20
ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo runs from Friday, November 20, 2026, through Sunday, January 3, 2027. Hours are 4:30 to 9 p.m., with last entry at 8. Block Club Chicago reported the same dates, hours and ticket structure when sales opened on October 6.
The ticket you pick decides what the walk costs:
| Ticket type | Price for the 2026 season | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Free Admission Monday | $0 | Reservation required, released one week ahead |
| Advance, fixed date | $7 to $12, depending on the date | Bought ahead for a set night |
| Flexible date | $20 | Any open night |
| Same day | $20 | Bought the day of |
On most nights, booking ahead for a set date saves at least $8 a person over walking up. On the cheapest dates the savings is $13.
The schedule has gaps. ZooLights is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It's also closed on Tuesdays, apart from December 22 and 29 and a ticketed sensory-friendly night on Tuesday, November 24, priced at $7. Members get a preview on November 19, so the Thursday when the museum is free is also the night the zoo's lights first come on for members.
The Free Mondays Are Booked a Week Out
There are four free Mondays this season: November 23, November 30, December 7 and December 14. December 21 and 28 are not free. Free tickets are released one week before each date at 11 a.m. CT. Counting forward from this week, the booking calendar looks like this:
- Monday, November 16, 11 a.m.: reservations open for Monday, November 23.
- Monday, November 23, 11 a.m.: reservations open for Monday, November 30. That evening is also the first free night.
- Monday, November 30, 11 a.m.: reservations open for Monday, December 7.
- Monday, December 7, 11 a.m.: reservations open for Monday, December 14, the last free night of 2026.
After the first one, each release falls on a free Monday itself. So the morning you book next week's free night is also a free night. The Chicago History Museum is closed on Mondays, which leaves the zoo as the only stop at Clark and North on those evenings.
Thanksgiving Week Moves to Wells Street
The museum and the zoo both close on Thanksgiving. For the rest of that week, the calendar shifts to the comedy rooms and storefronts along Wells and North:
- Wednesday, November 25, 8 p.m. The Second City's holiday sketch revue Not Today, Santa plays UP Comedy Club, with tickets listed from $45 to $85.
- Wednesday, November 25, 9:15 p.m. Zanies, at 1548 N. Wells St., hosts "Blackout Wednesday with Liza Treyger."
- Friday, November 27, 8 p.m. Not Today, Santa plays again.
- Saturday, November 28, 3:30 p.m. Not Today, Santa has a matinee. The same day is Small Business Saturday on the Old Town Merchants & Residents Association calendar.
The two Wednesday shows start 75 minutes apart. That leaves room for dinner between them, or a sketch revue followed by stand-up.
The Second City's holiday lineup also includes Rudolph Runs Wild, an interactive show for families, and Planes, Trains and ??, a comedy about holiday travel billed as an escape from after-Thanksgiving family drama.
Wells also has a new place to eat that it lacked last holiday season. Ela Modern Greek Taverna at 1551 N. Wells St. was on WTTW's fall restaurant openings roundup in September. It now serves dine-in and pickup, with hours posted on its website. Ela sits on the same block as Zanies, so the 9:15 Wednesday show and a Greek dinner are only a short walk apart.
Burton Place Plaza Closes the Stretch on December 3
The season's last neighborhood event is the most local one. The Old Town Merchants & Residents Association and SSA #48 hold their Holiday Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 3, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Burton Place Plaza, 1447 N. Wells St.
The timing fits the rest of the calendar. The museum has closed for the day by 4:30, and ZooLights doesn't take its last entry until 8. Thursday isn't one of ZooLights' closed nights, so the hour on Wells can come before an evening at the zoo or after it. That one hour at Burton Place is the only event this season run by the neighborhood's own merchants and residents.
The Dates That Come After the Tree
The zoo and the museum keep going after the tree is lit, and ZooLights runs through January 3. The bigger tickets are mostly in the second week of December:
| Date | Event | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, December 6 | Chris White Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas tribute | ZooLights | ZooLights night |
| Monday, December 7 | Free night and booking day for December 14 | ZooLights | $0 with reservation |
| Wednesday, December 9, 6 p.m. | Chamber Music Immersive Holiday Special: Brahms & Tchaikovsky | Chicago History Museum | $65 |
| Thursday, December 10 | Adults Night Out, 21 and over | ZooLights | From $20 |
| Sunday, December 13, 3 p.m. | Muslims in America screening and interfaith dialogue | Chicago History Museum | Free, registration required |
| Monday, December 14 | Last free Monday of the season | ZooLights | $0 with reservation |
| Thursday, December 31 | New Year's Eve ZooLights | ZooLights | Special event night |
Across all of it, the pattern from November holds. Free entry depends on a date or a reservation: the museum's November 19, the four Mondays at the zoo, and the December 13 screening. The paid nights cluster in the week after Burton Place.
A neighborhood calendar like this shows who has been paying attention to Old Town week by week, and the same building-level attention guides how we price and market every listing on these blocks. If you own a condo between North Avenue and Division and want to know where it stands this season, The Hancock Group can prepare a valuation based on the sales in your building and on your block. Request Your Home Valuation.
