THE BUZZ: AUGUST 2026

BEAT THE HEAT LIKE FERRIS

Staycation season is here, and so are the houseguests. Before you default to the pool, consider this: The Art Institute of Chicago just launched a tool that lets you build your own self-guided museum tour—curate your own favorites or grab a ready-made theme—and suddenly a slow afternoon becomes the highlight of the week. Our pick is the “Be Like Ferris Bueller” tour, which retraces the famous day of Lake Forest’s own John Hughes gave Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane. The route: a selfie with the south pedestal lion, Chagall’s America Windows, Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Pollock’s Greyed Rainbow, and Kandinsky’s Improvisation No. 30. It’s the rare outing that satisfies everyone, works rain or shine, and comes with Lake Forest bragging rights.

23 (please Use) Edward Kemeys. — Edward Kemeys. Lion (One of a Pair, South Pedestal), 1893. The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Mrs. Henry Field. ® The Art Institute of Chicago. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

23 Marc Chagall — Edward Kemeys. Lion (One of a Pair, South Pedestal), 1893. The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Mrs. Henry Field. ® The Art Institute of Chicago. Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

SUMMER’S BIG READ

This month, pack Buckeye by Patrick Ryan in your beach bag and get ahead of the curve. It’s the just-announced pick for Lake Forest Library’s Fall 2026 One Book/One Community program that’s receiving rave reviews (including one from F&B’s own Editor in Chief). Set in fictional Bonhomie, Ohio, this decades-spanning saga follows two families upended by one impulsive kiss, with secrets and consequences echoing from World War II through Vietnam. Finish by September and you’re set for author weekend: Ryan in conversation with bestseller (and Lake Forest resident) Rebecca Makkai on September 27 at Gorton Center, and morning chat at Lake Forest Library on August 28. Registration opens mid-August at lakeforestlibrary.org.