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12 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Weekend

By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 7, 2016 4:11PM

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This weekend is teeming with Kayne, Acro-Cats and a couple of food/drink battles to round it all out.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 7

KANYE WEST: Kanye West brings his amazing floating stage to Chicago for two shows, one at United Center on Friday and another at Allstate Arena on Thursday. All reports describe this as a truly unique concert experience, one in which—remarkably—the focus is on the crowd's interaction with each other and not the performer. In a year where West has continually pushed creative boundaries and sought to re-interpret how music is even consumed by the public, this move makes total sense to us. The Uniter Center is sold out but there's plenty available on the resale market, and Allstate Still has tickets available through the venue.

ROCKTOBER BEERFEST: For those who aren’t quite ready for the end of the outdoor street fest season, Rocktober Beerfest from Sam Adams is for you. Beer, bands, brats and pretzels give the three-day fest at Randolph and Ogden it’s German vibe, plus traditional live music from Die Musikmeisters. Local cover bands Too White Crew and 7th Heaven will also perform. Tickets start at $20 and include a beer stein.

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Sones de México Ensemble, photo courtesy the Chicago Cultural Center

JUICEBOX: Juicebox also welcomes a new season at the Chicago Cultural Center on Friday at 11 a.m. The free kids music series kicks-off with Sones de México Ensemble.

WIRED FRIDAYS: The Chicago Cultural Center’s free mid-day DJ series is back. The first and third Friday of every month hosts renowned DJs, beginning with DJ Hyperactive at noon this Friday.

ACROCATS: The Amazing Acro-Cats run at the Vittum Theatre continues benefitting Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control. If you’ve ever seen these cats do their thing, you know they really are amazing, and they’ve got a sense of humor, too, with all those fake-outs and wanderings off. The stars of the show are all rescue cats trained by Samantha Martin to walk a tightrope, jump through hoops, push a shopping cart and more. There’s even a Rock Cats band featuring a rooster on tambourine. No, we’re not kidding (video proof, above). Tickets start at $23. Check website for showtimes.

PILOT LIGHT GALA: Pilot Light is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that “develops and delivers standards-based classroom curriculum to local schools that builds food and nutrition into everyday subjects like English, math, social studies and science.” Friday night is their annual gala at Morgan Manufacturing from 7 to 10 p.m. James Beard Award-Winning chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio (Craft Restaurants, Top Chef) among others will host the event that includes tastings, drinks and auctions. Tickets start at $150.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 8

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Rosehill image courtesy of Special Events Management.

ROSEHILL CEMETERY CRYPT WALK: Get in the halloween spirit early with a nighttime 5K Run & Walk at Rosehill Cemetery. Proceeds from the spooky run benefit the Chicago chapter of the American Diabetes Association. Registration fees start at $30.

HANDMADE MARKET: 30 sellers will take part in Saturday’s Handmade Market at Empty Bottle from noon to 4 p.m. jewelry, purses, knitted items, clothing, paper crafts, and more will be for sale with the Bottle serving up beverages and Bite serving brunch next door. Free.

MOZZARELLA LAB: Get behind the scenes with the cheese at Eataly. You’ll be taught how to make how to make creamy, chewy mozzarella from curds and boiling salted water, and then the best part--tasting it. 2 p.m. Tickets are $10.

WEAR EARPLUGS: Dinosaur Jr is one of the few bands to have a late career resurgence with an original line-up whose newer albums rival the group's "classic" work. This year's Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not see the trio of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph crafting epic slabs of rock that sound both thrilling and vital. The band's live shows turn the volume way up and each time we've seen them in the last few years have only grown in intensity. The band's show at Metro on Saturday night should prove no different.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 9

BLOODY MARY BATTLE: Head to Sink|Swim for a Bloody Mary battle between guest “bartenders” from noon to 4. Mickey Neely of Castle Door Supper Club and Dibs will battle Coyote DeGroot of Labrabbit Optics and Loba Pastry + Coffee. You be the judge. Free.

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Image courtesy of Kimski & Maria's.

SAUSAGE BATTLE ROYALE: From 2 to 6 p.m. there’s a different kind of competition at Kimski. Publican Quality Meats, Haymarket Pub & Brewery and Bridgeport's own Martinez Supermarket will compete in Sword Fight: A Sausage Battle Royale with audience members judging the winners. The event will also feature The Sausage Toss (ya know, sausage casings filled with water), The Relish Race and a Polish sausage-eating contest presided by the Sausage Queen, Nicole Makowski of Makowski Real Sausage Co. Free.