In the local news roundup earlier this week, I mentioned the upcoming Worldwide D&D Game Day - Weekend in the Realms on Saturday, Nov 8th. There are now two game stores that are advertising events for the Realms day:
Gamer's Asylum is running their event from noon to 6pm. They are located in Evanston.
Chicagoland Games is also running a Realms game, starting at noon. They are located in Edgewater.
Games Plus is listed on the D&D RPGA locator as running a WWDDGD Realms event that day as well - you should give them a call for more information (847) 577-9656.
If your nearest gamestore isn't listed, give them a call and ask. There may be Game Referee's running events and they just are not publicly listed.

The Game Day will feature a special adventure in the Forgotten Realms world. You can bring your existing 1st - 4th level Forgotten Realms character to participate, even if it's involved in a home campaign. If you don't have a character, you can roll one up at the game, or use a pre-gen.