Taylor Swift, sports and more bring in big crowds

Summer in Chicago. Unofficially maybe, but sunny days, sweltering temperatures and a variety of events around town can only mean one thing: Summer life has definitely arrived.

Chicago will be packed with live sports and entertainment events all weekend, prompting officials and organizers to warn citizens about traffic and large crowds.

In a press release Thursday afternoon, the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) confirmed “increased activity with the summer festival and event season going on” and asked concert attendees and nearby residents to “exercise caution for everyone’s safety.”

Starting Friday, the Chicago Sky, a White Sox game, a Two Friends concert, and Taylor Swift’s first Soldier Field show stop at Eras Tour Chicago, and more will gather in busy neighborhoods during rush hour.

Expressing concern about traffic congestion around Wintrust Arena, 200 E. Cermak Rd. , the Chicago Sky set their game for Friday against the New York Liberty at 5 p.m

About a two-mile drive from Soldier Field, 1410 Special Olympics, the doors to the ERAS Tour Fair will open Friday at 4:30 p.m. For those who have purchased Soldier Field parking, this will be available starting at 2 p.m. to start at 6:30pm, with Swift starting to set it for three hours at 8pm

“With so many events taking place around the city and museum campuses, fans are strongly encouraged to arrive early,” according to Soldier Field’s Tour Eras. event page. “Traffic will be heavy, so please plan your travel accordingly and take public transportation when possible.”

For more information on picking up on the Soldier Field Eras tour, parking and public transportation, see our detailed Tribune guide.

[ What to know ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Chicago ]

Directly across Burnham Harbor at the Campus Museum in Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island, 1300 S. Linn White Dr.

“With several concurrent events happening around Museum Campus this weekend, including the Two Friends concert on Northerly Island on Friday, fans are encouraged to arrive early for the screening process and allow the extra time due to increased traffic and activity in the Soldier Field area,” The OEMC press release said.

For baseball fans, the White Sox will face off against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field, 333 West 35th Street, at 7:10 p.m. on Friday.

but that is not all. Starting Friday 1 p.m. through Tuesday, American Society of Clinical Oncologists Approximately 37,000 physicians will attend to a conference in the McCormick Place South Building, the North Building, the Lakeside Center and the Arie Crown Theatre.

This agreement is especially convenient for Swift fans who plan to find parking on the day of any Eras show, as 31st Street McCormick Place Lot B at 3050 S. Moe Dr. am Off-site parking is also available for IRA’s tour at McCormick Place Lot D, 1832 S. DuSable Lake Shore Dr.

The OEMC also reminded residents and visitors of this Pre-race activity is scheduled to begin on Friday at Grant Park prior to the NASCAR Chicago Street Race July 1-2. Parking restrictions will begin at 2 a.m. Friday along Columbus Boulevard heading south between Jackson Dr. and Balbo Dr. However, closures of important streets will not begin until June 25.

Less likely to affect downtown traffic congestion is Is the division street festival On Westtown Division Street between Damen Street and Levitt Street (2000-2200 Street West). The festival – which will include live music, family entertainment, small businesses, retailers and local boutiques – will start on Friday from 5-10pm and run on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10pm each day.

the Chicago Gospel Music Festival It will start at noon at Cloud Gate Plaza, kicking off the summer music season at Millennium Park until 5:45 p.m. The festival – which is expected to draw a crowd of 12,000 – will run at Jay Pritzker Pavilion from 5:30pm to 9pm with Grammy winners Karen Clark Sheard and Ty Trippett.

Entrances to the Gospel Music Festival events will be located on Randolph Street and Monroe Street. Entries to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion event will open approximately 90 minutes prior to start time.

Parking garages close to Millennium Park include Millennium Park Garage, Millennium Lakeside Garage, Grant Park North Garage and Grant Park South Garage – all of which are likely to fill up with an IRAs Tour party given their proximity to Soldier Field. Further, Millennium Park is served by the CTA Red Line (Lake), Buses #3, 4, and 146, all the public transportation a Swift fan could hope to use over the weekend.

Saturday will be the second night of Swift’s three-night stop in Chicago, and the Friday concert schedule will apply to Saturday and Sunday shows as well, with Museum Campus parking opening at 2pm, stadium doors opening at 4:30pm, opening performances starting at 6:30pm and Swift will start the stage from 8-11pm

Large streets will be closed this weekend in the Garfield Park, Humboldt Park and Douglas Park neighborhoods Bank of America 13.1 Race on Sunday, whose participation is expected to be 7,000, according to OEMC. There will be a 1.31 mile Healthy Walk on Saturday at 10am and a Run Jump Throw at 11am. The actual race will be on Sunday, with the wheelchair start at 6:50am and the race start at 7am

Afternoon briefing

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Streets will be closed from 6 a.m. until approximately 11 a.m. and include McCrea Drive from Schraeder Drive until its end, May 31 to June 6; Washington Street from Hamelin to Schrader Drive, June 3-June 5; Warren Street from Washington Boulevard to Homan, June 3rd to June 5th; Central Park Avenue from Madison to Lake Street, June 3 to June 5; and Schrader Drive from Hamelin to Washington Boulevard, June 3 to June 5.

A brochure containing a full list of street closures for the half marathon can be found at Race site in chicago13point1.com. No parking zones will be enforced along the track starting at 1 a.m. on Sunday. People who live on a street along a race route must move their cars to another off-track location by Saturday.

Drivers must also account Kennedy Highway Construction which is currently in its first phase along the 7.5 mile stretch of the split at I-94 south to Ohio Street, and at the mega tunnel near Hubbard Street in downtown. Construction has begun with the inbound or southbound lanes, with closures beginning in mid-March. Two normal inbound lanes will be closed simultaneously, and the reversible express lanes in the center of the highway will remain open in the inbound direction at all times.

[ Kennedy chaos, Lake Shore snarls: How Chicago construction will affect traffic this spring and summer ]

Starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, the northbound North DuSable Lake Shore Drive was reduced to two lanes between LaSalle Drive and Lawrence Avenue for resurfacing work, according to Chicago Department of Transportation. The slopes would be closed one by one for about an hour as the work progressed north. Lanes will reopen around 6am

Starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, southbound Lake Shore Drive has been reduced to one lane between Lawrence Street and Irving Park Road. The south entrance ramp at Lawrence Street, and the exit and entrance ramp at Wilson Street, Montrose Street and Irving Park Road will be closed. The lanes will reopen around 7 am

Work on Lake Shore Drive will include a reduced speed limit of 35 mph.

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