Market Dates 2026
Mark your calendars for these dates to shop, eat, and see performances at the Maxwell Street Market, May through October: Select Sundays May 17, June 7, July 19, August 9, September 13, & October 4, 2026. Maxwell Street between S. Halsted & S. Union Avenue. 10 AM to 3 PM. FREE Admission.
“The Mayor of Maxwell Street” Program at the October Market with Avery Cunningham
Author Avery Cunningham came to the Maxwell Street Market on October 5th, 2025 to present a book reading and signing. Her novel, The Mayor of Maxwell Street, tells the story of an ambitious Black debutante who enlists a speakeasy manager to help her identify the head of a crime syndicate in Prohibition era Chicago. Her … Read More
October 10th and 11th: CHICAGO SPOLIN INTENSIVE WITH ARETHA SILLS AT JANE ADDAMS HULL-HOUSE MUSEUM
On Saturday Oct. 10 and Sunday Oct. 11, 2025, Aretha Sills, the granddaughter of Viola Spolin, will be side-coaching an improvisational acting workshop at the UIC Jane Addams Hull House, 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM, for actors, educators, directors, and improvisers. Sign up or learn more: click here. Working with immigrants from the Maxwell Street … Read More
FREE TROLLEY on June 8th Between Downtown Chicago and Maxwell Street Market
SUNDAY JUNE 8TH: DCASE IS PROVIDING A FREE TROLLEY between Maxwell Street Market and the Chicago Blues Festival at Millennium Park from 10:45 – 2:15PM. Trolley will make continuous runs from Maxwell Street (1330 S. Halsted) to Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph Street). AT MILLENNIUM PARK Check out more Blues Music at the Historic Maxwell Street Market, the City’s … Read More
“Poor Man’s Paradise” Exhibit at Project Onward 8/15/25 – 9/27/25
Nick Jackson, a member of the Maxwell Street Foundation’s Advisory Council and artist working at Project Onward, is curating a Maxwell Street-related exhibition this summer at the Maxwell Street Market and in Project Onward’s exhibition space. Project Onward is a studio for artists with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. Please see the details below for our collaborative event; contact for … Read More
Announcing 2025 Dates for the Maxwell Street Market: Select Sundays May Through October 2025
The iconic Maxwell Street Market is at its original location on Maxwell Street for the 2025 season, and the Maxwell Street Foundation will be one of the vendors, selling our t-shirts, books, shopping bags and more. We’d love to chat with you about the Market’s history and future! Dates for Maxwell Street Market on Select … Read More
Help us with a 3-D Animation Project
We’re creating a digital experience — a walk through of the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago c. 1970! We’re looking for volunteer assistance for someone with animation or Photoshop skills or looking to develop those skills. If you’re a student that can do this kind of unpaid intern work for school credit, we’d be grateful! … Read More
Blues in the Czech Republic
The Maxwell Street Foundation will give a walking tour of Maxwell Street on June 3rd to a group of Blues enthusiasts / Blues fans / Blues history fans visiting from the Czech Republic for the 2025 Annual Chicago Blues Festival. Its organizer, Štěpán Suchochleb, reached out via the Maxwell Street Foundation’s website for the tour of … Read More
“Mr. H” Holger “Max Halsted” W. Wollert obituary
Farewell to Mr. H, who was a big presence in the fight to save the old Maxwell Street Market in the 1990s. Our board member Steve Balkin writes: “I am sad to report that my good friend and Maxwell St. Blues legend Mr. H. has passed way in Arkansas, where he retired to. Mr. H … Read More
Nate’s Deli sign on view in “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli exhibition
Through April 14, 2024, Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 A sign from the former Nate’s Deli in the collection of the Maxwell Street Foundation is on loan to this temporary exhibition at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois. Nate Duncan worked at Lyon’s Delicatessen on Maxwell Street … Read More