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Arts and Entertainment

The arts are alive in the Oak Forest area!

The City of Oak Forest hosts free concerts three times a year (during the summer months) at the Gazebo located at 155th Street and Central Avenue. The concerts are from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and offer entertainment for the whole family. Local food vendors are on-site for an afternoon snack or refreshment, and you can bring your own blanket or lawn chair. Enjoy a relaxing Sunday evening with family and friends at these concerts sponsored by the Oak Forest Gazebo Gatherings Commission.

Prairie State College’s Christopher Art Gallery in nearby Chicago Heights houses a substantial variety of artwork, and also hosts six to eight shows annually featuring local and regional artists, plus the works of PSC students. Programs vary, but there are a couple of annual exhibitions not to be missed. High school students from District 515 display artwork in March, while graduating PSC art students offer an exhibition in May. Late August offers an exhibition of artwork from PSC photography students, as well as graphic communications, fine art and interior art students. And each fall, the gallery features a juried show highlighting regional artists, in conjunction with the Art Trek weekend sponsored by the Chicago Southland Visual Arts Coalition.

Close by, Governors State University is home to the awe-inspiring Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park. Recognized as one of the country’s largest outdoor collections, the sculpture park, which is open year ‘round, stretches over 100 acres on GSU’s campus in University Park. The collection was established in the late 1960s and today is comprised of more than 25 unique pieces of art.

Also found at GSU is the Center for Performing Arts, a top venue for performing arts productions in the Chicago Southland region. A diversity of performances are offered throughout the year, as are ample opportunities for education through the center’s Arts in Education program, geared towards area schools.

Great live stage entertainment can be found minutes from Oak Forest at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater (formerly the Tweeter Center) in Tinley Park. This venue stands as the largest outdoor amphitheater in the Chicagoland area, welcoming over 400,000 guests a year to enjoy some of the biggest names in music—Dave Matthews Band, Tim McGraw, Maroon 5, Journey, Rascal Flatts, the Jonas Brothers and Ozzy Osbourne are only a few of the names that have most recently graced the stage at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater.