We're huge fans of the Sunday kids' concerts at Beat Kitchen. This Sunday, take your toddler to see Little Miss Ann, a former CPS music teacher, fellow mama and one of our favorite local musicians. Her "Pirate Ship" song'll be stuck in your head for the rest of the weekend. The show starts at noon, and your $5 ticket includes a kid-friendly lunch of pizza and a juice box. more ›

This Sunday, Old Town School of Folk Music is hosting a hootenanny! Kids are invited to come in their pajamas and tote along their favorite plushie for this twee pre-bedtime show featuring Wiggleworms teachers Lindsay Weinberg, Rob Newhouse, Elaine Moore and others. Chicago Children's Theater promises to bring their own, life-sized Teddy Bear to join in the festivities. Show starts at 5 p.m. at Old Town's Lincoln Square location, and tickets are $11 for members and $12 for everyone else. more ›

Just when we thought we were going to run out of reality shows to cover, the powers that be keep shoving them upon us. The Amazing Race This Sunday saw the return of the Energizer Bunny of reality series, The Amazing Race. The 12th season premiere had the highest ratings of any other program on Sunday, as 13.8 million viewers tuned in to see 11 teams of globetrotters being shipped off to lovely Shannon, Ireland.... more ›

Lollapalooza Performer Kid Sister more ›

Let's face facts: the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's is deadly. Caloriewise, that is. First we start with T-Day leftovers (seven days and counting), and then we move on to the never-empty office cookie tray, enormous steaming mugs of hot chocolate and egg nog, and the kind of frigid wintry laziness that tempts us to cease exercising all together. It brings to mind that wise old adage: a moment on the lips, forever on the hips. more ›

Though there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary, Chicagoist reserves Sunday mornings for the sacred, rather than the profane. Our rituals alternate between sleeping and reading or kneeling and praying. more ›

This Sunday, the Windy City Rollers are hosting the Roller Derby Season Playoffs at Cicero Stadium. All four teams of the Windy City Rollers league will be competing to see who will play for the Joy King Cup on November 12. Doors open on Sunday at 5 p.m. The first match features the #2 Double Crossers versus #3 The Fury at 6 p.m. The second match of the night will be between the the top seed Manic Attackers and #4 Hell's Belles immediately following the first match. Tickets to the two matches are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. A portion of the proceeds will benefit PAWS. more ›

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your ovens! This Sunday is the second annual Bucktown Apple Pie Contest which will benefit Holstein Park. As of Monday, organizers were still accepting entries for what is sure to be a knock-down, drag-our battle for apple pie supremacy. Organizer Megan Wade warned Chicagoist that last year's winner will be entering again this year, so the stakes are definitely high. Entrants need to fill out this form and then bring two... more ›

Remember how the Velvet Lounge was supposed to close on April 1st? Well, that didn’t happen (April Fool’s indeed!). Then remember how Fred Anderson said it was going to stay open for another month or so? That didn’t happen either, as it closed on April 8th. So now, the Velvet is moving. Like anybody else, they’re selling off some of the stuff they don’t need and asking its patrons to help them with a housewarming.... more ›

It’s just an address—2851 North Halsted—that a few Lakeview condo owners will soon call home. The post office, utility companies, and most of Chicago are fairly indifferent to the new construction and what it displaced. But dedicated theatergoers and Chicago history buffs will need a moment to compose themselves as the wrecking ball meets the building once home to the Steppenwolf Theatre, the Organic Touchstone, and the St. Nicholas Players (the launching pad for some kid named David Mamet). Steppenwolf has moved on and current tenant ComedySportz will transfer to nifty new facilities, but that doesn’t diminish the spiritual importance of this scruffy Lakeview space. more ›

Do you miss the internet when you log off? Do you wonder whether the World Wide Web is opening doors into the wide world of art? Do you wish you could get that same warm feeling listening to the radio you get reading blogs and surfing the net? more ›

This Sunday, the city's streets will again be flooded with thousands of runners taking part in the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The 26.2 mile course: starts in Grant Park, just north of Buckingham Fountain. Runners first travel north through River North, Old Town, Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville. Next, they head south through some of Chicago’s most historic and diverse neighborhoods, including Greektown, Little Italy, Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport and the South Loop. Finally, runners turn... more ›

In the world of independent film, one encounters plenty of obstacles not faced by the big studios. While money—or lack of it—is a common complaint, the challenge of degenerative illness rarely enters the picture. But for director and Chicago theater actor Ben Byer, dealing with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) was not just an obstacle but also the impetus to get behind the camera in the first place to film Indestructible: A Story of Survival. more ›

In case you were wondering how United got into bankruptcy, maybe offering free flights like this one are the reason. United is offering tickets on flight 9895, which will fly from O'Hare to Midway on Sunday, June 26th for the Cubs-Sox game. more ›

Chicagoist has wanted to participate in this every year since we returned to Chicago, and every year some family function has prevented us from doing so. This year, we've got a Sunday morning wedding. more ›

Due only to a flu outbreak in the Chicagoist sports bureau this weekend, the season opener of the Chicago Rush Arena League Football team was slightly overlooked. Facing the Dallas Desperados, the Rush suffered a 66-65 defeat in OT. The Rush took the risky move of going for a 2-point conversion following a touchdown, but couldn't convert. They could have kicked the extra point and sent the game into 2OT. more ›