This Weekend's Cheap Dates

By Margaret Lyons in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 27, 2004 4:09PM

Oof. We’re getting off to a late start this morning here in the Chicagoist offices; we blame the humidity and last night’s late showing of Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut. Ah, sweat and confusion, thy name is laziness.

There’s a lot going on this weekend, with everyone apparently trying to squeeze the last bits of joy out of the soon-to-be-over summer. Sigh. Wear those white shoes a few more times this week before you have to pack those bad boys away again.

Saturday and Sunday head over to Grant Park for the ¡Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the Midwest. Former Miss Universe and Miss Venezuela Alicia Machado will be rocking her Latin pop tunes at 4:50 on Saturday, but she’s just one of the many performers. The Mayor's Office of Special Events tells us that “the ¡Viva! Chicago Latin music festival features a diverse array of music to include cumbias, norteñas, tropical, merengue, salsa, ballads, ranchero, mariachi and more!” How did "ballads" get on that list? Anyway, all the music is free, and there will be ethnic art, food, jewelry, and clothing vendors. Just don’t let Miss Venezuela see you drip taco all over yourself because if there's anything she hates, it's messy eaters.

Also upping your culture quotient for the weekend is the Bucktown Arts Fest, featuring bucking, arts, and fests. Following its mantra “It’s the art, stupid,” 170 artists will be participating in the free festival. “The variety of art at the fest embraces the creative spirit,” according to its press release, so be ready for some filthy hippies. Enjoy the art, poetry, and flamenco dancing at Senior Citizen's Park, 2300 North Oakley. Thanks must be offered to New City for reminding us that even if we’re getting tired of all the art and shit, “the drug-crazed lunatics that hang at the fringes are good for a few chuckles.”Weirdly, that's also true of our livingroom.