Note: Lollapalooza isn’t exactly the first thing that jumps to mind when thinking of cheap or free things in Chicago, but it’s also a festival that offers a good deal of value for those who attend. And because I don’t want to leave out “expensive” things on this blog, necessarily, especially if they offer a good value for your dollar, I’ve added a new category here: “Worth the money.” It will be used to highlight events which are neither free nor cheap but are, uh, worth spending your hard-earned nickels and dimes to attend.

Lollapalooza returns to Grant Park today as part of a ten-year contract Perry Farell signed with the City of Chicago. And though temperatures are predicted to be at least in the 90s all weekend — with the requisite Lolla-showers punctuating Friday and Saturday’s weather forecasts — the biggest music festival of them all (well, in the U.S., anyhow) deserves mention. It’s a pricey endeavor — up to $205 for a three-day pass — but if you consider the number of bands playing, and the fact that you’ll get about 33 hours of musical entertainment (in addition to the crowd-watching which can be priceless), it’s not so bad. (And, as always, Craigslist serves as a last-minute resource for desperate ticket sellers, and buyers — currently as low as $130 for a three-day pass…but try not to reward the insanely greedy ticket scalpers unless you REALLY need to see Perry Farrell driving Lou Reed around in a golf cart. Which is rumored to be happening. We’ll see.)

I’ll be attending all three days of the festival — as well as the The Music Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel (also totally worth the dough, if you can cough up a few hundred dollars) — and reporting nightly where the bargains (and not-so-bargains) are for food, refreshments, artisan wares, and such. If previous years are any indication, parents who want to keep their little rockers entertained will find the biggest bargains — kids under 12 are admitted FREE to Lollapalooza, which contains Kidzapalooza, featuring skateboarding and breakdancing workshops, punk hairstyling, body painting, temporary tattoos, make-and-take rock posters, hip hop CD mixing with the Q Brothers, and hands-on rock lessons (with real rock-n-roll gear). And, yes, it’s only for REAL kids, not kids at heart.

In the meantime, some advice: in addition to bringing a blanket for lounging around during or between sets (and plenty of water!), swing by the dollar store to buy a cheap shower curtain…if it rains, you can put it on the ground underneath the blanket and avoid getting yourself — and your blanket! — muddy…and when it’s time to go, either fold it muddy-side in and bring it home for the next time you need to replace your too-moldy shower curtain, or recycle it in an appropriate receptacle.

Though all three days are expected to sell out, tickets are still available for Lollapalooza at www.lollapalooza.com ($80 per day; $205 for a three-day pass), and very few Music Lounge packages are still available at the Hard Rock Hotel (starting at $549 for three nights).

Lollapalooza runs from Fri Aug 7 through Sun Aug 9 in Grant Park, located at 337 E. Randolph St. Visit www.lollapalooza.com or www.hardrockhotel.com for more information on festival tickets and special hotel packages.

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