Explore accessible events!

How to use the calendar

Filter events by typing keywords into the search field below, or click on a keyword in an event to filter all events by that category.

Select "Submit an Event" to have your cultural organization's accessible event added to the Access Calendar.  

submit an event

Access Events Search and Views Navigation

Access Event Views Navigation

Filters

Changing any of the form inputs will cause the list of events to refresh with the filtered results.

Today

Beauty and the Beast Jr. ASL Interpreted Performance with BrightSide Theatre

Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall 31 S Ellsworth Street, Naperville

Based on the original Broadway production that ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, and the Academy Award-winning motion picture, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR. is a fantastic adaptation of the story of transformation and tolerance. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR. features some of the most popular songs […]

  • ASL Interpreted

Barry Sonnenfeld: Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time—True Stories From a Career in Hollywood at Northwestern University

Northwestern University - Ryan Center for Music 70 Arts Cir Dr, Evanston

The legendary director of Men in Black, Get Shorty, and The Addams Family dishes out a delectable mix of insights and true tales that escalate from outrageous to unbelievable in his new memoir, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time. From battling with studio executives and producers to bad-script-solving on set to coaxing actors into finding […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

John Green and Rebecca Makkai in Conversation at Northwestern University

Northwestern University - Cahn Auditorium 600 Emerson St, Evanston

John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, The Anthropocene Reviewed) and Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers, I Have Some Questions for You) are two of our most beloved contemporary writers. They’re also long-time admirers of each other’s work. For the first time, the two best-selling authors will come together to discuss their books and their […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Michelangelo Sabatino: The Edith Farnsworth House at Northwestern University

Northwestern University - Norris University Center 1999 Campus Dr, Evanston

The Edith Farnsworth House, one of the most famous residences in modern architectural history, was legendary long before it could be widely accessed. Michelangelo Sabatino brings to life the house’s original design by Mies van der Rohe and discusses periods of neglect, flooding, and new ownership by Lord Peter Palumbo in his latest book, The […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Talk | Politics of Poetics: Heid E. Erdrich and Andrea Carlson at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Museum of Contemporary Art 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago

Politics of Poetics is a series of readings and workshops that highlights influential contemporary poets whose practices traverse the political through writing, teaching, and activism. This fall, poet Heid E. Erdrich reads new work and selections from her award-winning book of poetry, Little Big Bully (2020) and Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum of […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Captioning

Writing on Eggshells: Political Comedy Cracked Up At Northwestern University

Northwestern University - Norris University Center 1999 Campus Dr, Evanston

What’s it like to write for the most popular late-night comedy shows in America when the news already feels like a satire of itself? Second City’s Kelly Leonard sits down with Chicago-bred talent who have written for the hottest shows in late night: Ali Barthwell (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), Peter Grosz (The Colbert […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Milo Imagines The World at Chicago Children’s Theatre

Chicago Children's Theatre 100 S Racine Ave, Chicago

MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes us through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • In Person
  • Open Captions
  • Sensory Friendly

Primary Trust at the Goodman Theatre

Goodman Theatre 170 N Dearborn St, Chicago

An open-hearted, “utterly absorbing, very funny, darn near perfect play” (The Daily Beast) about leaving your comfort zone to find fulfillment. Meet Kenneth, a 38-year-old longtime bookstore worker, who is perfectly content with his after-work routine: a mai tai (or two) at the local tiki bar. But when his employer decides to close the store, […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Audio Description
  • Low Lighting
  • Open Captions
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Touch Tour

“Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller: HBO’s Somebody Somewhere” at Chop Shop

Chop Shop 2033 W North Ave, Chicago

Expect unfiltered stories and insights as these two friends and collaborators take the stage to discuss their rise in New York's alt-cabaret and improv comedy scene to starring roles in HBO’s Peabody Award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy series, Somebody Somewhere. After a short screening of the Season 3 premiere episode, Everett and Hiller will share behind-the-scenes […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • In Person
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Anne Curzan: Says Who? at Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture

Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture 2936 N Southport Ave, Chicago

Language is constantly changing. Linguist and veteran English professor Anne Curzan is here to help us decipher its “rules.” Written with lively humor and humanity, Curzan’s newest book Says Who? is a pragmatic and accessible key that reveals how our choices about language can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. Join Chicago […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Milo Imagines The World at Chicago Children’s Theatre

Chicago Children's Theatre 100 S Racine Ave, Chicago

MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes us through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real […]

  • Audio Description
  • In Person
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Touch Tour

Movement and Collaboration: Claudia Rankine in Conversation with Shamel Pitts at Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture

Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture 2936 N Southport Ave, Chicago

Join us as we experience poet and Yale professor Claudia Rankine and choreographer Shamel Pitts in conversation and performance. Rankine is not only the New York Times bestseller of Citizen: An American Lyric, but a MacArthur Fellow, playwright, and author of the newly released Dont Let Me Be Lonely. She brings her unique perspective on […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Tegan and Sara on Junior High and Crushes at Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture

Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture 2936 N Southport Ave, Chicago

Tegan and Sara are indie-pop royalty, twin sisters, and bestselling authors of a young adult graphic novel duology. Crush, the second book in this autobiographically-inspired series, explores the teenage world of crushes, crushing it, and being crushed by life — all wrapped in a queer lens. Join Chicago Humanities in conversation with Tegan and Sara […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Edge Theater

The Edge Theater 5451 N. Broadway, Chicago

Four Athenians run away to the forest in the name of love (reciprocated and otherwise). They find themselves in the midst of a war between Titania and Oberon, the king and queen of the fairies, over a changeling boy in Titania’s charge. In the midst of this conflict, local workers are attempting (poorly) to rehearse […]

  • All Gender Restrooms
  • Digital Documents Available
  • Open Captions
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Calm Waters at Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium 1200 S DuSable Lak Shore Dr,, Chicago

Calm Waters is an exclusive event for guests with disabilities and Veterans to explore Shedd Aquarium’s exhibits and experiences in a comfortable and accepting environment. Modifications for this event will include limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration. Modifications for Calm Waters Include: Limited capacity and streamlined entry with advance registration A sensory friendly […]

  • All Gender Restrooms
  • ASL Interpreted
  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Free Event
  • In Person
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

World Premiere of Community Storytellers Shorts at Gene Siskel Film Center

Gene Siskel Film Center 164 N State St, Chicago

Join us for an evening that brings the soul of Chicago’s neighborhoods to the big screen! Experience the powerful stories of our community through the lens of three talented Chicago residents from the 2023-24 Community Storytellers program: Alexie Young Take 290 (15:53; North Lawndale, Westside) Directed by Sanicole Written by George Ellzey Jr. A defeated […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Audio Description
  • Captioning
  • Closed Captions
  • In Person
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Zip! at Poetry Foundation

Poetry Foundation 61 W Superior St, Chicago

Written by Chicago poet Timothy David Rey, Zip! is a prophetic and ghostly timewarped drama about Nancy Reagan’s fervor for astrology, interlaced with a Black gay love story, set on the eve of the AIDS epidemic and the Reagan assassination attempt. The play runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Zip! is a 2023 semi-finalist […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Captioning
  • Free Event
  • Hybrid Program

Christopher Cox on Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn at University of Chicago

University of Chicago - Gordon Parks Arts Hall 5815 S Kimbark Ave, Chicago

Former fifth-ranking leader in the US House of Representatives, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and senior associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Christopher Cox leads a […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Family Day | Screen Time at Museum of Contemporary Art

Museum of Contemporary Art 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago

Designed for children under 12 and their grown-ups, MCA Family Days invite our youngest visitors to be the museum’s artists, thinkers, and collaborators. Witness an artist’s first creation. Experience inspiration […]

  • ASL Interpreted

Fugitive/Refuge: Philip Metres and Faisal Mohyuddin at Poetry Foundation

Poetry Foundation 61 W Superior St, Chicago

Philip Metres will read from his new book Fugitive/Refuge, an extended qasidah reflecting on exile and family histories of forced migration from global violence. Chicago poet Faisal Mohyuddin will read […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Closed Captions
  • Free Event
  • Hybrid Program

A Talk on Dance and Movement with Kyle Abraham at University of Chicago

University of Chicago - Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts 915 E 60th St, Chicago

As part of our fall festival examination of movement, we explore the primal human expression of physical movement and the artistic and cultural foundations of dance with leading choreographer Kyle […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Hoop Dreams at 30 at University of Chicago

University of Chicago - Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts 915 E 60th St, Chicago

Hoop Dreams was famously called “the great American documentary” by Roger Ebert. It’s also, of course, a quintessentially Chicago film. Hoop Dreams turns 30 this year, its story of two […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Patti Smith and Lynn Goldsmith: Before Easter After at University of Chicago

University of Chicago - Gordon Parks Arts Hall 5815 S Kimbark Ave, Chicago

Legendary celebrity and rock-n-roll photographer, Lynn Goldsmith has captured the biggest stars with her skilled lens. She’s chronicled the careers of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Open Captions

Talk | The Living End Artist Roundtable at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Museum of Contemporary Art 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago

On the occasion of the opening of The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970-2020, featured artists Tishan Hsu, Tala Madani, and Jacolby Satterwhite chat with Senior Curator of the […]

  • English Captioning
  • Spanish captioning

Becky Nurse of Salem at Theater Wit

Theater Wit 1229 W Belmont, Chicago

The Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem, a new dark comedy by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Polly Noonan, promises to bewitch Chicago audiences as the opening production of Shattered […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
  • Audio Description
  • Open Captions
  • Touch Tour
  • Wheelchair Accessible