A SEASON TO REMEMBER AT THE HUNTER PAVILION AT RAVINIA

Reflecting on a Summer of Music, Community, and the Opening of the Maxine and Thomas B. Hunter III Pavilion at Ravinia

As fall arrives, the Hunter Family Foundation (HFF) board and staff look back on a year filled with meaningful moments alongside our partners and communities, particularly a very special evening in July at Ravinia.

On July 10, the Hunter family, HFF staff, friends, and loved ones gathered at our longtime partner, Ravinia, to celebrate the opening of the Hunter Pavilion, honoring Maxine and Thomas B. Hunter III. The rebuilt stage made its debut alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's 90th consecutive summer residency, with Chief Conductor Marin Alsop leading opening performances.

At the Pavilion's dedication, HFF Board Chair Bill Hunter, speaking on behalf of the Hunter family, shared a line from the novel Theo of Golden that struck a chord with everyone in attendance:

“For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it. Whether the art is sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine, music, or raising a child—nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core."

It was a meaningful sentiment for a space that carries such personal history for the Hunter family. Ravinia has been part of the Hunter Family history for more than 55 years, through Maxine Hunter's years of service on the Women's Board, decades of summer concerts and galas, and a tradition the next generation now carries forward with children and grandchildren of their own making memories on the same grounds.

That history and the memories that came with it, carried through the rest of the venue’s season, closing out its 2026 summer with a sold-out final weekend in the Hunter Pavilion. The concert season featured artists across genres, including the Chicago Symphony, Hugh Jackman, Ricky Martin, Chance the Rapper, Brandi Carlile, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, Lizzo, and others, many of whom took a moment from the stage to share how much they'd enjoyed performing in the new space.

We hope everyone who spent an evening there this summer felt the same joy and magic.

The Hunter Family Foundation is grateful to Ravinia for an unforgettable season, and to the many friends and family who joined HFF in celebrating it.

There's more ahead from HFF this fall, and we look forward to seeing many of our partners and community again over the coming weeks and months.

You can read the New York Times' coverage of the Pavilion's opening night here.