CHECK OUT: all the Free Things to Do in Chicago at http://chicagofree.info

LISTEN. Check out Sunday in the Park with Civic, a percussion ensemble from the Civic Orchestra of Chicago’s MusiCorps program which offers a free, family-friendly, interactive chamber program for children this Sunday May 3 at Indian Boundary Park in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

SHOP. More than 7,000 tomes, including a 1920 edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “This Side of Paradise,” will hit the shelves at the NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOOK SALE. Stock up on all those titles you’ve been meaning to read. May 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Hardcover books will be priced at $3; quality paperbacks at $2; mass-market paperbacks at 50 cents. 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston, (847) 491-2932, www.library.northwestern.edu/booksale.

EXPLORE. Costumes and props from the movies are among the treasures you’ll uncover when “HARRY POTTER: THE EXHIBITION” opens at the Museum of Science and Industry this week. The exhibitions are modeled after sets from the films, such as the Gryffindor common room. May 1-3, 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; extended hours apply to Harry Potter exhibit, regular museum space closes at 4 p.m. Combination admission with regular museum admission ranges from $15-$26. 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, (773) 684-1414, www.msichicago.org.

BET. Arlington Park kicks off the horseracing season with the “WORLD’S LARGEST DERBY PARTY.” The day includes 12 live races, live music, mint juleps and, of course, a simulcast of the Run for the Roses from Louisville. May 2, gates open at 10 a.m. General admission is $6; park-goers who live in Arlington Heights receive discount. 2200 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, (847) 385-7500, www.arlingtonpark.com.

SIP. The all-you-can-eat (and drink) BATTLE OF THE BELGIANS features two Belgian-style breweries going head to foaming head at Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap. The evening will include beer and food pairing and three rounds of beer tastings. May 1, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Cost is $25. 41 E. Superior St., (312) 266-0400, www.jakemelnicks.com.

LEARN. Interior designers of all stripes will show you how they find that one treasure that makes the room. As part of the MERCHANDISE MART INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUES FAIR, the designers will scour the booths and then explain their findings, teaching the audience what to look for when buying antiques. This Favorite Things workshop takes place Friday a.m.; the show runs through Monday. Favorite Things discoveries, May 1, 11 a.m.; antiques fair, May 1-2, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; May 3, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tickets are $25. 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, (800) 677–6278, www.merchandisemartantiques.com.

PREPARE. That North Shore gardening favorite, Chalet, opens its doors for its for annual GARDEN FAIRE. Just in time for spring, get your soil tested and your tools sharpened, and pick out new trees, shrubs, plants and soil, some of which will be discounted throughout the weekend. May 2, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; May 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 3132 Lake St., Wilmette, (847) 256-0561, www.chaletnursery.com.

TOUCH. Fire engines, ice cream trucks, school buses and more than two dozen other full-sized vehicles will be open to little hands during the Kohl Children’s Museum TOUCH-A-TRUCK event at Fields Chrysler Jeep Dodge. Let your kids get up close and personal with the big wheels. May 3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tickets are $25 per family, proceeds benefit Kohl Children’s Museum. 670 Frontage Rd., Northfield, (847) 832-6600, www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org.

Free Comic Book day is coming to Chicago! Free Comic Book Day is a single day – the first Saturday in May (May 2 in 2009)- when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores.

Since 2002, many independent comic book shops have been participating in Free Comic Book Day. All you need to do is to go into a comic book shop on May 2nd and get a free comic book. It’s that simple. Some of the comic books being given away are Disney/Pixar-Cars,Star Wars: Clone Wars, Transformers, Archie, Bongo, etc –

Get more information and the store locator at Free Things to Do in Chicago

The Chicago History Museum –This is a privately endowed museum focusing on the rich history of the city. It’s $14 to visit, but every Monday it’s FREE!

This month, the focus is on the Lincoln Treasures, which tell the story of Abraham Lincoln’s rise to the presidency, his struggle to keep the country united, and how people remembered him after he died. Come see President Lincoln as a student, husband, father, friend, and a leader who changed the nation.

On display for a limited time, see Lincoln’s handwritten speech that helped the nation understand the reasons behind the country’s bloodiest war. Four months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln delivered his brief but powerful speech at the battleground for the dedication of the soldiers’ cemetery. See one of the five handwritten copies of the speech, on loan from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.

Extended hours: the Museum will open at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays while the Gettysburg Address in on view, April 4 through May 3, 2009.

Here is another excellent entertainment option for free in Chicago: The Edge Comedy Club’s Big Fancy Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic. Every Wednesday night, from 8:30 to 10:30, pros and amateurs perform at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts (Phone: 312-733-6000) which is located at 777 N. Green St. (1 block west of Chicago and Halsted Avenues). Click here for a map.

This comedy show is borne out of the Edge Comedy Boot Camp, where you can learn to be a comic yourself. You will be impressed by the number of young comics showing off their skills; some have a bright future, some love to use their humor to deaden the grind of their regular 9-to-5,  and some need to pursue a different career before it is too late. But you will have fun one way or another.

You can get your taxes done for free in Chicago!

I know it is close to tax time but if you are like me, you are still pulling together paperwork.  With all the economic bad news impacting many Americans, I just recently found out that there is some good news — if you earned less than $35,000 last year, you can get your taxes done, for free, in Chicago just by placing a phone call.

A continuing program from the Center For Economic Progress and the City of Chicago can help.  Tax preparation services can help, but you’ll probably pay hundreds of dollars to have your tax forms filled out. Once again, the Center For Economic Progress and the City of Chicago have teamed up to provide this free tax preparation and electronic filing service for metro area residents.   Last year….”the tax counseling project did 20,000 returns and brought back $25 million in refunds to families and individuals throughout Illinois,” says David Marzahl, Center For Economic Progress. [Read more...]