So you’ve decided to stay and enjoy the beautiful June weather in a beautiful city. If you are wondering how to spend the time, here are some suggestions of things to do this weekend.

Festivals: Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods, and many neighborhoods sponsor their own festivals, which are held in addition to citywide events. This weekend, the big event is the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade and the Chicago Pride Fest. The parade starts at noon on Sunday at Halsted St. and Belmont Ave., while the fest is held at Halsted St. and Waveland Ave. by local merchants. Two other neighborhood festivals bloom on the North side of the city—the St. Josaphat Summerfest, benefiting a local church at 2311 N. Southport Ave. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the larger Chicago Summerfest in Lincoln Park, a two-day celebration from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday that features blues and rock music, including national and local acts, plus arts and crafts and kids’ entertainment. Both neighborhood fests cost $5 to attend.

Theater: Chicago abounds with theater, with many more shows than can be listed here. But the hot ticket item right now is “The Color Purple,” the Oprah Winfrey-backed musical, playing at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. The Chicago production features two members of the Broadway cast: Felicia Fields, recreating her Tony-nominated performance as Sofia, and Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie. Also featured are former Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams and “American Idol” contestant LaToya London as Shug Avery and Nettie, respectively. Tickets are hard to come by; however, two other Broadway in Chicago shows offer a chance to win last-minute tickets. For both “Wicked,” playing at The Oriental Theater, and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” playing at the Drury Lane Water Tower Place, there are day-of-performance drawings for 10 seats in the first two rows. You can enter to win the tickets by filling out forms at the theater box office, and you must be present to win. In addition, tickets to all of these shows are available from online ticket brokers.

If you are feeling more adventurous in your theater-going, there are a number of shows to check out. At the Steppenwolf Theatre Co., 1650 N. Halsted St., a visiting troupe of three actors is performing “500 Clown Frankenstein” and “500 Clown Macbeth,” blending physical theater and circus acts with these two tragedies. There is always Chicago icon Second City, the comedy and improv troop now presenting “Between Barack and a Hard Place” at its main location at 1616 N. Wells St., a short cab ride from the downtown area.

This weekend also features a special playfest devoted to female playwrights, Chicago HER-RAH 2007: A Festival of The World’s Best Women Playwrights And Their New Plays being held at the Around the Coyote Gallery, at 1935-1/2 W. North Ave. Performances begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Another Chicago icon is talk show host Jerry Springer, and he was actually on hand recently for the local opening of “Jerry Springer--the Opera,” being performed at the Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. The show, which has been popular in London for years and won an Olivier Award there, features a mock episode of “The Jerry Springer” show with a series of guests and the usual mayhem.

Tours: This is a great time of year to be in Chicago—the weather usually cooperates, and the lakefront literally glimmers in the sun. It’s a good time to see the city at its best, and one of the best ways to do that is on one of many different tours. For example, there’s the Untouchable Tour, (773-881-1195) a two-hour bus ride that leaves every morning at 10 a.m. and passes famous gangster spots such as the site of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, the Biograph Theatre and the flower shop of Al Capone’s North Side rival Dion O’Banion. If you are looking for more culture, there’s the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s two-hour walking tour of skyscrapers built between the 1880s and the 1930s. The Historic Skyscrapers Tour (312-922-3432) also departs daily at 10 a.m.

One very entertaining way to learn about Chicago history is through a Chicago Ghost Tour (1-888-GHOST 91), which escorts you to historic sites in search of wandering souls. Or you might prefer to eat your way around the city, in which case, you’ll want the Chicago Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour, (800-979-3370), a narrated walk around Chicago’s Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods with stops at specialty shops and ethnic eateries, including, of course, a Chicago-style pizzeria. If you can’t make it to a play while here in Chicago, you can still take the Chicago Theater Stories Walking Tour (773-508-4894), which is a guided tour of the city’s theater district in which you’ll hear many stories from the city’s rich theater history and some of the many celebrities that performed here.

If you are looking for a little more action, consider the Chicago Segway Tour (312-663-0600), a one-hour rolling excursion, or one of Bobby’s Bike Tours (312-915-0995) either in daylight or evening hours.

Finally, this particular summer in Chicago features the Cicadas, our every-17-year guests that you may have a chance to see up close while you are here. Since the red-eyed monsters (who do no damage) are usually found in wooded areas, you can check them out at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, named for the wife of Qwest Chairman and CEO Richard Notebaert, located at 2430 N. Cannon Dr., in Chicago. The Magicicada exhibit features photographs, a collection of cicada skins left behind after molting and a 2.5-foot cicada replica.

What more could a fun weekend offer?