WRIGLEYVILLE — The Wrigley Field plaza will be ready for Opening Day.
The owners of the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday released details on the first summer events to be held on the triangle-shaped plaza just north of Clark and Addison streets that will be known as The Park at Wrigley Field.
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Cubs home opener April 10, the plaza will have pregame festivities. A new website with details on plaza events also launched Wednesday.
The plaza will host a weekly farmers market during the summer, bi-weekly music programs and six family movie nights. Hickory Street Capital, a real estate company owned by the Ricketts family, will operate the plaza and the adjacent Hotel Zachary.
Fans who have tickets to the game will have regular access to the plaza two hours before first pitch, where there will be food and drinks for sale and activities before, during and after the game. The game and post-game highlights will play on the video board above the plaza.
The first event will be a two-day "Craft and Cuisine" celebration May 13-14. More than 40 craft beer and wine tastings and tastings from Cafe Tola, Crosby's Kitchen, Girl and the Goat, Honey Butter Fried Chicken and other Chicago restaurants.
Tickets are $49 per session, with VIP tickets for $79.
The first farmers market, operated by Green City Market, will be June 15. It will run Thursdays through Oct. 26. The event will clash with Lakeview's other major farmers market, the Low-Line Market, which takes place under the Southport "L" station Thursday evenings from June 1-Oct. 26.
Organizers drew from some of Chicago's favorite entertainment providers to schedule events. Lakeview's Music Box Theatre will host the movies in the park, with films like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" June 14, "The Jungle Book" June 28, "Rookie of the Year" July 12, "Ghostbusters" July 26 and "Sandlot" Aug. 9.
Old Town School of Folk Music will launch morning and afternoon music programs starting in June. Offerings include the Wiggleworms early childhood music education series.
RELATED: Cubs Want To Have Events Outside Wrigley Field 'Every Day,' Ricketts Says
Facing the plaza will be a Starbucks with a high-end Reserve bar, a two-story tavern-style restaurant, the Cubs Store, a Jostens jewelry store and a trophy room for the 2016 World Championship Trophy.
The plaza will also be available for private and public events.
The Park at Wrigley Field is subject to a newly created plaza ordinance that dictates how many special events can take place on the plaza.
The ordinance, approved in June over the Cubs' objections, restricts the plaza to to 12 special events per year, which includes events with attendance of at least 1,000 people, amplified sound or alcohol sales. That would also include allowing fans on the plaza to watch away playoff games if alcohol is sold. Of the 12 special events, only five can have amplified sound.
• Final City Bill For Cubs World Series Run: $18.8 Million
• Cubs Want To Have Events Outside Wrigley Field 'Every Day,' Ricketts Says
• Here's The Whole List Of Chicago Cubs Giveaway Items At Wrigley This Season
• Cubs End Print-At-Home Tickets To Slow Down Counterfeiters
• Wrigley Field Will Be Ready For Opener, Cubs Plaza To Follow This Summer
• Cubs To Pay Nearly $400K To Repair Grant Park After Championship Rally
• Wrigley Field Plaza Restrictions Now Law, Despite Cubs' Protests
The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by an entity controlled by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the iconic team.
