Start the holiday season right by participating in The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, a Chicago tradition for over 40 years. Events will be held all weekend, starting today with the judging of holiday store windows, through Saturday when N. Michigan Ave., will be lit by Mickey Mouse with over one million white lights. There will be more than 100 activities, including many new ones like a LEGO mural building, performances at the American Girl Theater and a Santa float with a snow machine. The weekend’s big finale will be a fireworks show over the Chicago River.

If you are tired of paying $8 or more for an empty movie-going experience, visit to the DuSable Museum of African American History. If you go Sunday, Nov. 19, you can see a free screening of Separate But Equal, which follows the story of the Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education. The film starts at 2 p.m., and the museum’s Sunday hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the museum is also free Sundays.

The Greatest Show on Earth is in town! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are in Chicago from Nov.14-26 at the United Center. The traditional circus acts that make Barnum & Bailey a must-see are enhanced with new technology and lots of surprises. You can relive the magical childhood experience of going to the circus, or if you have never been, then you can finally witness the circus tradition. It may not be as glamorous as, say, seeing Wicked, but there is most definitely something appealing about the high trapeze acrobatics, animal tricks and lots of cotton candy. Tickets can be purchased on ticketmaster.com or by phone, and prices range from $13 to $80.

– Marnie Soman