Summer Guide - ... Enjoy Grant Park to the fullest

First, stay shady in a good way at the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival. Sure it will be August and 8 billion degrees outside, but the giant beech, maple, and oak trees that live in Grant Park create just enough shade to keep everyone at the festival comfortably cool. Featuring a bountiful artists market, several stages for live music, and a diverse mix of fair food (hot dogs, curly fries, etc.), and local food trucks, the Shade Festival is the culmination of everything great about summertime in a city of trees. Free. Aug. 25-26. Grant park, 646 Boulevard. 404-521-0938. www.gpconservancy.org.

Then it’s time to swim laps at the Grant Park pool. Want to win 14 gold Olympic medals like swimmer Michael Phelps? Odds are you won’t, but that doesn’t mean you can’t train like him at Grant Park’s Olympic-size pool. Or, you know, just have some fun doing the doggy paddle and playing Marco Polo, if that’s more your thing. Opening May 28, the pool offers free swimming on weekday afternoons from 1:30-4 p.m. through Aug. 8, and paid swimming ($1-$4) on weekdays from 4:30-8 p.m. and throughout the weekend from noon-8 p.m. beginning Aug. 9. 625 Park Ave. 404-622-3041. www.grantparkpool.org.