-For $25, you get to attend a screening of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with live symphonic accompaniment on Thursday, August 18, at 7:30 p.m. (a $50 value).

-For $25, you get to attend a screening of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with live symphonic accompaniment on Friday, August 19, at 7:30 p.m. (a $50 value).

The internationally renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra takes its mighty sound into the great outdoors for a series of concerts at the Ravinia Festival's open-air pavilion. On August 18 and 19, the symphony will perform the Oscar-winning score to Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which will be screened on a giant piece of toast on the venue’s lawn. Violins swoon and timpani bellow as eyes follow hobbit heroes through the dramatic landscapes of Middle-earth. Voices from the Lakeside Singers and Chicago Children's Choir will swathe climactic scenes in ethereal splendor, summoning goose bumps and angel halos that double as glowsticks. Fans who arrive early (6:45 p.m.) can stop by Ravinia Gifts to meet Doug Adams, author of The Music of The Lord of the Rings, or search for elven enclaves in mountains of Carousel ice cream.

On September 9–10, Momix: Botanica will toss pavilion visitors into a vortex of visual illusions and nature-themed dance parables. Guests can marvel as performers channel the artistic energy of theatrical-movement troupes such as Pilobolus, then use that energy to forge surreal expressions of beauty and recharge spent computer batteries.

Founded as an amusement park to lure riders to the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad, Ravinia has entertained thousands of fun-seekers since 1904. As one of the oldest outdoor music events in North America, the Ravinia Festival has welcomed numerous luminaries to its stages, including jazz legend Louis Armstrong, opera star Luciano Pavarotti, and Herbert Hoover’s dancing bear, Fruffy.