Chicago Humanities Festival

Tickets for the Chicago Humanities Festival go on sale to the general public today. The city's annual celebration of culture, literature, art, and social sciences runs from October 29 to November 13, with speakers and performances all over the city. This year's festival theme is "Home and Away"; presenters will address the role that place serves in the creation of identity and belonging. There is also an accompanying children's festival featuring interactive programs in theater, storytelling, art, music, and animation.

This year's highlights include Joan Didion and James Atlas discussing writing about place; coiner of the term "creative class" Richard Florida and University of Chicago poli-sci professor Daniel Drezner talking about global competition for labor; Jan Morris, Simon Winchester, Pico Iyer, and Susan Orlean talking about travel writing; Stuart Dybek on the time and place of poetry; and a closing lecture by the Ayatollah's favorite author, Salman Rushdie. The festival also features performances celebrating the music of composer Harold Arlen, and panel discussions with local members of the media.

In the past, the festival has featured a wide range of presenters, from sci-fi author William Gibson to public policy wonk Francis Fukuyama to Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. Chicagoist can tell you from previous attempts to see some of the big names that tickets go fast and will again this year, especially since they have been available to CHF members since August 30 (those gray-haired old ladies sure loves them some Chuck D).

Tickets to most events are only $5, and some are even free. You can order from the CHF website, by calling the box office at (312) 494-9509, or in person at the Tribune Store, 435 N. Michigan. If you're a procrastinator, you can even get lucky and buy tickets at the door for some of the weekday presentations. Proceeds help fund the festival and the CHF's various education outreach programs.