Looking for something to do with your family? Check out our highlights of current events and activities for kids.

Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment in Chicago for kids and families to enjoy. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on the latest activities.

Tempel Lipizzans’ stallions

Courtesy Tempel Lipizzans

When: Ongoing

Where: Tempel Farms, 17000 Wadsworth, Old Mill Creek.

What: The stallions return for a new season of equestrian dressage along with interactive, educational events. Performances feature synchronized movements set to classical music that show off the strength, beauty and intelligence of the Lipizzan horse. Following each event, there are self-guided tours through the stables to meet and pet the equine stars and ask questions of riders and trainers about how the Lipizzans are raised, trained and taught to “dance.” Tickets: $35, $25 for ages 4-14.

More information: tempelfarms.com

Pride in the Park

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

When: 2-10 p.m. June 26, 3-10 p.m. June 27

Where: Butler Field in Grant Park, main entrance is 377 E. Monroe

What: The LGBTQ-friendly music festival returns to Grant Park. Chaka Khan headlines the festival, which also includes performances by Gryffin, Tiësto, Betty Who, DJ Derrick Carter and Tracy Young. Also featured are drag performers including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars Denali Foxx, The Vixen and Naysha Lopez as well as Tenderoni, Miss Toto and Jo MaMa. Tickets: $40-$85, free for children 10 and under.

More information: prideintheparkchicago.com

Long Grove Strawberry Festival

Grimaldi Public Relations

When: noon-11 p.m. June 25, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. June 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 27

Where: 308 Old McHenry Rd., Long Grove

What: A decades-old tradition in downtown Long Grove returns June 25-27. It will be the same full-scale event that annually kicks off summertime in the suburb. There’s strawberry-centric cuisine — deep-fried strawberries on a stick, chocolate-strawberry popcorn, strawberry smoothies, strawberry donuts, strawberry shakes, strawberry ice cream, chocolate-strawberry sundaes and much more. Additional vendors also will be on-hand dishing out summertime delights not strawberry-themed. There are also children’s activities, live music and a classic carnival.Tickets: $5; children under 6, free.

More information: longgrove.org

Drag Story Hour

Hannah Shanker

When: 10-11 a.m. June 27

Where: WNDR Museum, 1130 W. Monroe

What: The WNDR Museum has partnered with A Queer Pride and Chicago Public Library for this event featuring Chicago drag stars Bambi Banks-Couleé, Khloe Couleé and Kitty Banks, who will be stationed throughout the museum reading stories from books provided by CPL. The books featured will focus on stories about LGBTQ+ children, parents and families using language and imagery that is easy to understand for all age groups. Tickets in advance only: $40, children under 2 free.

More information: wndrmuseum.com

‘Becoming Jane’

Hugo van Lawick/National Geographic

What: Generations have been inspired by the work of primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall who has not only shown the urgent need to protect chimpanzees but also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environments. A new exhibit at the Field Museum, “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Jane Goodall,” follows her journey from a curious young child in England to a passionate scientist studying chimpanzees in Africa. Included in the exhibit are a recreation of her field research tent, a hologram-like projection of Goodall who shares her fieldwork memories, augmented reality activities and a projection of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park.

When: To Sept. 6

Where: Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.

Tickets: $18-$32. Visit fieldmuseum.org.

‘Hello Helios: The warming suns of Chicago’s Greektown’

Courtesy Greektown Chicago

When: Through spring 2022

Where: Halsted from Monroe to Van Buren

What: Welcome summer with a new outdoor exhibit celebrating the start of summer with 24 artworks inspired by the sun and related mythologies from Greek, Aztec, Yoruba, Japanese and Native American cultures.

More information: greektownchicago.org

Kayak for Conservation

Shedd Aquarium

When: Ongoing

Where: Kayak Chicago: 1220 W LeMoyne,

What: Get close to nature via the Shedd Aquarium’s popular Kayak for Conservation program, which features a variety of socially distant kayaking experiences on the Chicago River. Participants learn about the river’s environmental history and discover wildlife living in its ecosystem. Sessions are open to all levels of kayakers (including newbies) and are led by Shedd’s wildlife conservation experts. The cost is pay-what-you-can ranging from $20–$100 per participant, with a recommended $40, the base cost of the program.

More information: sheddaquarium.org/kayak

‘Make/Believe’

Ghostlight Ensemble

When: On demand to July 4

Where: Online

What: Ghostlight Theatre’s annual festival for young audiences takes place virtually this year. Featured are six new short plays that run the gamut from “Sunshine and the Sea of Lost Things,” about a child with no memory lost at sea, to “It’s Poppin’,” about a balloon afraid of soaring through the clouds, to “Splash of Magic,” about a girl trying to conquer her fear of swimming. Tickets: $1-$10.

More information: ghostlightensemble.com

‘Take Flight’

Museum of Science and Industry

When: Permanent

Where: Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr.

What: The MSI’s Boeing 747 reopens with a reimagined exhibit that explores modern aviation and the science of flight. The plane’s interior has been restored and new interactive elements have been added. Tickets: $12.95, $21.95.

More information: msichicago.org

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Wondering what movies to watch and where to see them? Here is our guide to screenings and events for cinema fans in Chicago.

Welcome to our roundup of movie screenings and events in Chicago. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on shows and activities.

Garden Movies

Music Box Theatre

When: All summer long

Where: 3733 N. Southport

What: The Music Box Theatre is screening films in its expanded courtyard under the stars. Tickets: $9.

More information: musicboxtheatre.com

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Chicago is home to some of the world’s greatest museums. Use our guide to find events and activities happening at the city’s many galleries and exhibits.

Welcome to our highlights of events and entertainment in Chicago at our city’s best museums and galleries. Bookmark this page and check back for updates on the latest activities.

‘Toward Common Cause’

© Njideka Akunyili Crosby

When: To Nov. 21

Where: National Public Housing Museum, 625 N. Kingsbury, and at the Minnie Riperton Apartments, 4250 S. Princeton

What: The National Public Housing Museum partners with the Chicago Housing Authority to display artwork by MacArthur Fellow Njideka Akunyili Crosby as part of “Toward Common Cause,” a multi-site exhibition organized by the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the MacArthur Fellows Program. Crosby uses acrylic, colored pencil and photo collages to create her distinctive portraits of African American life. “I almost want people to feel like the door is open and they’re walking by a scene into someone else’s life,” she says, “because that really is what I’m doing… mining my life to tell a story that is global but really wanting people to feel like they’re getting a glimpse into my world.” Crosby’s artwork installation is displayed on 70-foot banners on the sides of two buildings.

More information: nphm.org

‘Drawn to Combat: Bill Mauldin & the Art of War’

Copyright the Pritzker Military Museum & Library

When: Through spring 2022

Where: 104 S. Michigan

What: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Mauldin, who studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and was a cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times, is the subject of a retrospective at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. “Drawn to Combat” covers Mauldin’s career as a wartime cartoonist focusing on soldiers’ experiences and as a political cartoonist. The exhibit draws from more than 5,000 cartoons and objects donated to the museum by the Mauldin family. Tickets: $8, $10, children under 12 free.

More information: pritzkermilitary.org

‘The Obama Portraits’

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

When: To Aug. 15

Where: Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan

What: The Art Institute is the first stop of a five-city tour for the official portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald are the first African Americans to be commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Galley to create the official portraits of a president or first lady. A free stream features Sherald in conversation with Michelle Obama at 5 p.m. June 30. Pre-registration required. After the nationwide tour, the portraits will reside in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The exhibit is included with museum admission ($14-$25).

More information: artic.edu

‘Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now’

Provided

When: June 19-Oct. 3

Where: Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago

What: A new exhibit celebrates Chicago’s pivotal role as a national and innovative center for comics and cartooning. With a focus on rediscovering the work of women and BIPOC comic artists, this major exhibition presents the last 60 years of the city’s artful cartooning history, showing how comic art is a democratic medium that allows artists to speak directly to people in relatable ways. Over 40 cartoonists are featured including Lynda Barry, Lilli Carré, Daniel Clowes, Nick Drnaso, Edie Fake, Emil Ferris, Nicole Hollander, Charles Johnson, Kerry James Marshall and Chris Ware. On display are comics, graphic novels, zines, original drawings, dioramas, commissioned films, installations, rare ephemera and books. Admission: $8, $15.

More information: mcachicago.org

‘Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Jane Goodall’

Hugo van Lawick/National Geographic

When: To Sept. 6

Where: Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.

What: Generations have been inspired by the work of primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, who has not only shown the urgent need to protect chimpanzees but also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environments. A new exhibit follows her journey from a curious young child in England to a passionate scientist studying chimpanzees in Africa. Included in the exhibit are a re-creation of her field research tent, a hologramlike projection of Goodall sharing her fieldwork memories, augmented reality activities and a projection of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. Tickets: $18-$32.

More information: fieldmuseum.org

‘Vivian Maier: In Color’

Gift of Jeffrey Goldstein/© The Estate of Vivian Maier

When: To May 8, 2023

Where: Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark

What: Much has been heralded about street photographer Vivian Maier’s black-and-white photographs in exhibits, books and films. Now this multimedia exhibit features 65 color images made during her time as a suburban Chicago nanny from the 1950s to 1970s, many of which have never been seen before. Maier, who died in 2009, was a bit of a character and always had a Roloflex camera around her neck as she walked the streets snapping images of women, children, the old, the poor, the abstract. While her motives remain elusive, her photographs continue to speak volumes. Tickets: $17, $19.

More information: chicagohistory.org

‘Frida Kahlo: Timeless’

When: Through Sept. 6

Where: Cleve Carney Museum of Art in the McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell, Glen Ellyn

What: Here’s the not-too-miss art exhibit of the summer. Dolores Olmedo (1908-2002), a Mexican musician, businesswoman and friend of artists Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera, amassed an impressive list of works by both artists that reside in Mexico City’s Museo Dolores Olmedo. Her collection of paintings and works on paper by Kahlo have now traveled to the newly expanded Cleve Carney Museum of Art. The long-awaited exhibit, delayed a year because of the pandemic, features an array of oil paintings and works on paper, pivotal pieces created by the artist. Also featured are a multimedia timeline that offers a framework of Kahlo’s life, more than 100 photographs, a Kahlo-inspired garden and a family-friendly children’s area featuring a replica of Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Coyoacan, Mexico. Tickets: $23, $40.

More information: theccma.org/frida-kahlo/

Museum of Contemporary Photography

Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery

When: Through Aug. 29

Where: 600 S. Michigan at Columbia College Chicago

What: The museum is presenting two new exhibits. “Much Unseen Is Also Here: An-My Lê and Shahzia Sikander” features the work of two Asian-American artists who explore their relationship to America. In the tradition of American road photography, Lê’s photographs confront the political rhetoric of the moment and tackle current events; Sikander uses sculpture, drawings and animation to examine the intersection of power, gender, empire and self. “Martine Gutierrez” features work from Gutierrez’s independent art publication, “Indigenous Woman”, a magazine exploring how deeply sexism, colorism, racism, transphobia and other biases are embedded and ubiquitous in popular culture and fashion photography. Admission is free.

More information: mocp.org.

Polish Museum of America

Courtesy Polish Museum of America

When: Ongoing

Where: 984 N. Milwaukee

What: The museum, since 1935 a repository for a wide variety of materials pertaining to Poland and the Polish-American community, has reopened after being shuttered for more than a year. Among the many permanent exhibits are “Polish Chicago 1850-1939,” “Folk Art Collection” and “The Paderewski Collection,” which documents the life of Polish pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Tickets: $6-$10.

More information: polishmuseumofamerica.org

The Hartwell Memorial Window

The Art Institute of Chicago

When: Permanent

Where: Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan

What: A magnificent stained glass window made by Tiffany Studios in 1917 is now on permanent display at the Art Institute. The Hartwell Memorial Window, attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, Tiffany’s leading landscape window designer, was originally commissioned for a church as the gift of Mary L. Hartwell in memory of her husband Frederick W. Hartwell. It consists of 48 different panels, and is a scenic view of Mount Chocorua, a peak in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The window, located near the museum’s entrance, is one of the most ambitious landscape window projects produced by Tiffany. Museum admission: $14-$25.

More information: artic.edu

‘Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Exhibition’

SEE Attractions

When: Ongoing

Where: Oakbrook Center, 2120 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook

What: For a new perspective on some of the world’s greatest art check out this immersive exhibition showcasing the artist’s renowned ceiling frescos from the Vatican chapel. The reproductions were made using a photographic technique that captures the look and feel of the original paintings. Tickets: $14-$26.60.

More information: sistinechapelexhibit.com/chicago/

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More fundraisers for Skeleton Key, Swedish Days with beer in Geneva, and Devil’s Trumpet Anniversary.Read More

The highly anticipated exhibit will be staged at the Epiphany Center for the Arts in the West Loop.

It’s among the hottest tickets in town: the “Art of Banksy” exhibit heading to Chicago.

And now we know when and where it will take place.

The exhibit will be staged at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., with a new opening date of Aug. 7 (rescheduled from July 1).

“The Art of Banksy” will be housed in the 42,000-square-foot Epiphany Hall, formerly The Church of the Epiphany, a landmark building dating to 1885 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The exhibit will run through Oct. 31.

The news was exclusively revealed to the Sun-Times on Wednesday.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

As part of one of the largest touring art exhibitions in the world, the works presented in the show — including the “big three”: “Flower Thrower,” “Rude Copper” and “Balloon Girl” — have been culled from more than 80 of the mysterious street artist’s prints, canvasses, screen prints and sculptures held in private collections.

“All the pieces are from private collectors that Banksy sold to. Nothing has been taken from the street,” said Corey Ross, president & CEO of Starvox Exhibits, which is presenting the exhibit in conjunction with [collectiv presents]. (Starvox is a subsidiary of Starvox Entertainment, the Toronto-based agency behind “Evil Dead: The Musical,” “Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience” and “Immersive Van Gogh.”)

“They’ve been living in private homes or investors’ warehouses. So it’s a view behind the scenes of Banksy’s oeuvre. It’s an amazing opportunity to see this quantity of Banksy works. There’s no city in the world that has 80 pieces in one place.”

The exhibit will span the interior spaces of the Epiphany, with a majority of the works on display in the former church’s main sanctuary, making use of its vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses, Ross said. “We have other works in various small side rooms as well as the catacombs in the basement.”

The exhibit was originally set for a different West Loop location, but plans ultimately fell through as delays in city permit approvals necessitated a move, Ross said. “When we do this show it’s not that major [in terms of construction]. It’s putting up walls to attach the art to and a few other items,” Ross said. “Quite appropriately the city is concerned about safety and fire codes and fire exits, and we just needed to turn around permits and inspections. And it just wasn’t happening [quickly enough]. So we knew we had to move to a space that’s more amenable and easier to launch this project in. We found this amazing place in the Epiphany Center.”

Tickets for the exhibit went on sale in May with the venue still unnamed, and many dates quickly sold out. Ticketholders affected by the new opening date will be notified via email about exchanges or refunds. With pandemic capacity limits lifted, there will be more availability each day, Ross said. In addition, a new block of tickets will go on sale at 2 p.m. Saturday (June 25) incorporating the new capacity and new dates.

“We are thrilled to host ‘The Art of Banksy’ as part of the event programming we offer at the Epiphany Center for the Arts,” said David Chase, Epiphany’s co-founder. “Our mission is to instill an artistic, cultural experience in all patrons who cross our threshold, with the hope that each will be inspired to realize their own epiphany. Viewing Banksy’s work with our unique and historical venue as the backdrop will undoubtedly accomplish just that.”

Following its Chicago run, the exhibit, which has already been seen in London, Toronto and Miami, moves to San Francisco for a November showcase.

Tickets ($29.99-$99.99) for “The Art of Banksy” are available at banksyexhibit.com/chicago/.

Courtesy of “The Art of Banksy”

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Only an aggressive federal approach — saner gun laws and zero tolerance for illegal sales — will reduce the number of crime guns flowing into Chicago and other towns.

When it comes to ending the obscene flow of illegal guns into Chicago, our town can never do it alone.

Only a federal crackdown will stem the flow. Only an aggressive federal approach — saner national gun laws and zero tolerance for illegal sales — will reduce the number of guns used to shoot and kill thousands of people in Chicago each year.

Some 60% of guns used in crimes in Chicago can be traced to out-of-state dealers, including 20% from Indiana alone. If the problem is national, crossing state borders, the solution must be, too.

President Joe Biden recognized that reality on Wednesday and earlier this week in rolling out at least a partial strategy for countering gun violence in Chicago and other cities. He announced a handful of common-sense federal initiatives — nothing too politically polarizing — that are sure to be supported by a strong majority of Americans, if not by advocates for “defunding” the police or the extremist National Rifle Association.

At the same time, the cautious character of Biden’s new strategy speaks to the broader problem — good luck with anybody doing anything more. Not so long as a minority of a minority party, the Republican Party, continues to block even the most modest legislation in Congress to regulate our nation’s crazy, free-wheeling trade in guns.

Biden is acting by executive order, rather than writing legislation, because that’s all he’s got.

Firearms strike force

What Chicago should welcome most is Biden’s direction to the Justice Department to create a “firearms trafficking strike forces” here and in four other cities, New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. The feds have aggressively investigated local political corruption in recent years, but they’ve shown less interest in prosecuting gun traffickers.

As a companion effort to the federal strike forces, Biden has ordered the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to crack down on gun sellers who even casually flout the law. ATF, the president said, will seek to revoke licenses from gun sellers the very first time they are caught selling a weapon to a person who is not permitted to have one, neglecting to run a required background check or ignoring a federal request to provide trace information about a weapon used in a crime.

“We’ll make sure you can’t sell death and mayhem on our streets,” Biden said. “It’s an outrage. Has to end.”

ATF has always had the authority to do this, they just haven’t. Not much. The problem historically, we’re told, has been one of under-staffing, which Biden has promised to remedy with an increase in funding. As a sort of second-best solution, we should note, we have previously called for the State of Illinois — not just the feds — to also license gun dealers, which would give the state police the leverage they need to crack down on the worst gun dealers.

Better police work

Preventing gun violence is about more than curbing the illegal sale of guns. It’s also about better police work, and this where Biden on Wednesday went from offending Second Amendment absolutists to defund-the-police absolutists — but we’re with him.

We have written repeatedly that policing practices in Chicago, as well as across the country, must be overhauled. That was apparent, to anybody looking, long before George Floyd or Laquan McDonald were killed by the police.

But Chicago faces an existential crisis of gun violence. And it is folly to deny that more and better police work — sophisticated, community-based police work — should be part of the solution.

To that end, we strongly endorse Biden’s decision to allow $350 billion in federal economic stimulus funds to be used to pay for more and better community policing in places that have seen increases in crime during the pandemic.

The head of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, John Catanzara, is right when he complains that Chicago’s police force is stretched to the limit, with officers regularly working 12-hour shifts. And tired cops — our words, not his — make for bad cops. Not for nothing is Chicago finding it tough to recruit new officers.

Pieces of a puzzle

Biden’s new anti-violence strategy includes other initiatives, as well, such as more help for people leaving prison so they’ll be less inclined to commit crimes again. As the president said, if you give a new parolee “25 bucks and a bus ticket” — but no job or place to live — you can bet they’ll end up “right where they started.”

There is no one way to curb gun violence. There are pieces of a puzzle. Bringing regulatory sanity to the gun market is one piece. Supporting the best possible police work is another. Supporting proven community-based anti-violence programs is a third.

Biden accepts that, which is refreshing. And though the measures he announced this week are modest, he apparently is willing to make critics on both the right and left to get something real done, which is more refreshing still.

Send letters to [email protected].

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It’s among the hottest tickets in town: the “Art of Banksy” exhibit heading to Chicago.

And now we know when and where it will take place.

The exhibit will be staged at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., with a new opening date of Aug. 7 (rescheduled from July 1).

“The Art of Banksy” will be housed in the 42,000-square-foot Epiphany Hall, formerly The Church of the Epiphany, a landmark building dating to 1885 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The exhibit will run through Oct. 31.

The news was exclusively revealed to the Sun-Times on Wednesday.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

As part of one of the largest touring art exhibitions in the world, the works presented in the show — including the “big three”: “Flower Thrower,” “Rude Copper” and “Balloon Girl” — have been culled from more than 80 of the mysterious street artist’s prints, canvasses, screen prints and sculptures held in private collections.

“All the pieces are from private collectors that Banksy sold to. Nothing has been taken from the street,” said Corey Ross, president & CEO of Starvox Exhibits, which is presenting the exhibit in conjunction with [collectiv presents]. (Starvox is a subsidiary of Starvox Entertainment, the Toronto-based agency behind “Evil Dead: The Musical,” “Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience” and “Immersive Van Gogh.”)

“They’ve been living in private homes or investors’ warehouses. So it’s a view behind the scenes of Banksy’s oeuvre. It’s an amazing opportunity to see this quantity of Banksy works. There’s no city in the world that has 80 pieces in one place.”

The exhibit will span the interior spaces of the Epiphany, with a majority of the works on display in the former church’s main sanctuary, making use of its vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses, Ross said. “We have other works in various small side rooms as well as the catacombs in the basement.”

The exhibit was originally set for a different West Loop location, but plans ultimately fell through as delays in city permit approvals necessitated a move, Ross said. “When we do this show it’s not that major [in terms of construction]. It’s putting up walls to attach the art to and a few other items,” Ross said. “Quite appropriately the city is concerned about safety and fire codes and fire exits, and we just needed to turn around permits and inspections. And it just wasn’t happening [quickly enough]. So we knew we had to move to a space that’s more amenable and easier to launch this project in. We found this amazing place in the Epiphany Center.”

Tickets for the exhibit went on sale in May with the venue still unnamed, and many dates quickly sold out. Ticketholders affected by the new opening date will be notified via email about exchanges or refunds. With pandemic capacity limits lifted, there will be more availability each day, Ross said. In addition, a new block of tickets will go on sale at 2 p.m. Saturday (June 25) incorporating the new capacity and new dates.

“We are thrilled to host ‘The Art of Banksy’ as part of the event programming we offer at the Epiphany Center for the Arts,” said David Chase, Epiphany’s co-founder. “Our mission is to instill an artistic, cultural experience in all patrons who cross our threshold, with the hope that each will be inspired to realize their own epiphany. Viewing Banksy’s work with our unique and historical venue as the backdrop will undoubtedly accomplish just that.”

Following its Chicago run, the exhibit, which has already been seen in London, Toronto and Miami, moves to San Francisco for a November showcase.

Tickets ($29.99-$99.99) for “The Art of Bansky” are available at banksyexhibit.com/chicago/.

Courtesy of “The Art of Banksy”

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LOS ANGELES – The last month has been a whirlwind for Cubs’ third baseman Patrick Wisdom as he’s gone from relatively unknown to one of the most talked about players on the team. Wisdom burst onto the scene in June and has made his presence felt by slugging 10 home runs this month in just 74 at-bats.

Wisdom’s June has not only been eye-opening for anyone watching what he’s been able to do over the last four weeks, but also to himself.

After brief cups of coffee with the Cardinals and Rangers and plenty of time in the minor leagues, getting a real opportunity with the Chicago Cubs is something that isn’t lost on Wisdom amid the success.

“When you put it all into perspective and you think about it on that scale, it’s really cool,” Wisdom told The Sun-Times. “There’s a lot of people who don’t get to do this. I feel really honored and special to put on that jersey.

“To play alongside Javy and Rizzo standing across the infield, while Craig Kimbrel is getting another historic save, that really gives me goosebumps thinking about it.”

The 2012 first-round pick has had a re-introduction of sorts as his play on the field has caused his star to rise and introduced him to Cubs fans for the first time.

“It is funny to see the memes that come out and the things that people say,” he said with a big smile. “I don’t read too much into it, but the funny ones do catch my attention.

But the 29-year-old rookie sensation doesn’t just want to be baseball’s flavor of the month. Wisdom has already seen pitchers start to attack him differently, adjusting to what has become a dangerous bat in the Cubs’ lineup.

He knows it’s now up to him to make his adjustment back to the rest of the league as his at-bats continue.

“It’s understanding my weaknesses and cold zones,” he said. “Then figuring out how I can adjust to that. If it looks like a strike coming in and then ends up being a ball, do I just learn to not swing at those pitches anymore or do I figure out how to hit them? So kind at that crossroad of learning, trying to adjust and staying one step ahead.

“Mentally, I think more than anything, it’s just knowing that I can play this game.”

Manager David Ross gave Wisdom every opportunity to play after he was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 25 and after his third baseman responded with a home run barrage homering, he’s become an everyday player.

While the long ball has been Wisdom’s calling card through his first 27 games with the Cubs, he’s also been a standout defensively. He’s already plus-three defensive runs saved and plus-three Outs Above Average this season.

Ross has seen several players come and go during his major-league career and while he knows the adjustment for Wisdom is coming and he won’t hit a home run every game, he thinks there’s more there than a boom-or-bust bat.

“I think that goes a long way when you feel comfortable in an environment,” Ross said. I think when you have opportunities, you grind your way back and seizing those opportunities, and having been comfortable with the work you’ve put in and can say, ‘I belong in the major leagues and I can have success there’, having some early on when he first popped up, just gives you validation and confidence that goes a long way.”

As Wisdom continues his journey with the Cubs and enters as he tries to make a lasting impression in Chicago, it’s his responsibilities off the field that he feels have kept him focused while his life on the field has changed this season.

He and his wife, Caroline, have young two daughters and while playing third base for the Chicago Cubs is a dream of a lifetime for many, for him, getting to be a “Girl Dad” makes the joys of his success even sweeter

“At the end of the day, when the game is over, I’m in dad mode and I love every minute of it,” Wisdom said. “It also puts the game into perspective. I try to visualize it through their eyes. ‘Daddy’s out there playing a game. He gets to hit the ball and chase it down and catch and throw it.’ So I think that kind of reduces the pressure, honestly with trying to perform and trying to do better. I can just relax out there thinking about my girls.”

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The post Rodman Stories You’ve Never Heard first appeared on CHI CITY SPORTS l Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Fans – Rumors.Read More

Singer-songwriter Ella Williams, a newly minted Chicagoan, celebrates her new Squirrel Flower album at Sleeping Village this weekend.

As severe storms struck Chicago on Sunday night, Ella Williams was coming home from a music-video shoot.…Read More