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Pencil This In

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 5, 2008 5:00PM

Here are some things to do this evening to consider bringing your voter receipt.

2008_02_walker.gifPolitics: The local chapter of Drinking Liberally is hosting a Super Fat Tuesday party at Sheffield's this evening starting at 7 p.m. Stop in, order a pint or two and watch the results roll in from throughout the country. Seriously, it's politics and alcohol. What could go wrong?

Art: Chuck Walker's latest exhibit "Through a Glass Darkly" just opened a run at the Hyde Park Art Center. It's the first time in over ten years that Walker has exhibited his detailed, haunting paintings in a public setting on a large scale. Join the artist this evening as he discusses the exhibit.

Chuck Walker will be on hand at the Hyde Park Art Center to discuss "Through a Glass Darkly" from 4-5 p.m.

Music: Even though Mardi Gras is a time of celebration, the city of New Orleans is still facing some immense struggles two-and-a-half-years after Hurricane Katrina. Schuba's is hosting a tribute to one of the greatest bands to ever hail from the Crescent City: the Meters. The Sophisticated Cissies, featuring members of Bumpus, Chicago Afrobeat Project, the Hue, Abstract Giants, 56 Hope Road, This Is Me Smiling, and others.

Proceeds from Schuba's Fat Tuesday tribute to the Meters benefit the Habitat-NOLA Musicians Village Project. The event starts at 8 p.m., cover is $10.

Film: Film maker Derek Dow's Family Values, winner of the audience award at the Siskel Film Center's 2007 Black Harvest Festival of Film, Video, and TV, centers on the story of the Hill brothers, students at South Shore High School orphaned when their mother died. Ares (Dow) fights a hair-trigger temper and fits of violence, while BMOC Theo (Ramon Anthony) is coming to terms with his sexuality. Their older cousin Achilles (Roderick Haygood) moves in with the brothers and becomes their guardian, unequipped to deal with the brothers' problems or his own. Tonight's special 6 p.m. screening is a joint presentation of the Siskel Film Center and the Museum of Science and Industry's Black Creativity program. Dow will be in attendance to field questions after the movie.

2008_02_barack_new.jpgTheater: The Second City's "Between Barack and a New Show," directed by Jim Carlson, combines the best bits of their recent hit "Between Barack and a Hard Place" with new scenes and songs reflecting the current state of the union. If Obama's recent surge in the polls leading up to Mega Tuesday isn't a fluke, the air in the theater could be chilling as the results are announced.

8 p.m.; $19

Food: Purple Asparagus, a non-profit committed to bringing families back to the dinner table to enjoy all things associated with good eating, is hosting a fundraiser this evening at May Street Market. Chef Alex Cheswick will prepare a special four-course dinner with wine pairings, and Spatulatta's Olivia Gerasole will give a cooking demonstration.

5:30 p.m., $25 for children under 10, $65 for adults.