16 Of Our Favorite Events In Chicago This Weekend
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 4, 2016 3:42PM
What a time to be in Chicago. Your weekend starts with a WORLD SERIES PARADE! Congratulations Cubs!
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4
WORLD SERIES PARADE: We almost didn't think we'd live to see it, but the day has come. Your World Series Champions the Chicago Cubs will take their victory lap around the city at 11 a.m. The parade, which Mayor Emanuel promises will be “a parade to stand the test of time,” kicks off at Wrigley with a rally to follow in Grant Park at noon. Now, who wants to make a bet that Bill Murray will be leading the whole thing?
WIRED FRIDAY: Every other Friday the Chicago Cultural Center turns into a dance club at lunch time. This Wired Friday’s DJ is native Chicagoan and House aficionado, Diz. Noon to 1 p.m. Free.
CASTING AUCTION: If you feel like the world’s a stage and you’re the star, head to Michelle's Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. for a casting auction benefitting Porchlight Music Theatre. You could win one of thirty roles up for grabs in their musical production All Shook Up. The evening will also include live entertainment, bites and an open bar. Tickets are $75 ($85 at the door).
CHRP GALA: Chicago Human Rhythm Project honors Michelle Dorrance & Nicholas Young with performances at their Jubalee! Gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the event directly support their summer TAP SCHOLAR program as well as year-round, free, rhythm based arts education programs in Chicago Public Schools. Tickets are $150.
END OF THE RAINBOW: Porchlight Music Theater imagines the inner conflict of Judy Garland during her last days in End of the Rainbow, premiering at 8 p.m. at Stage 773. The “savagely funny” musical features music from Garland’s songbook as the Wizard of Oz star fruitlessly attempts to move beyond the rainbow. Tickets are $38.
HERE AND NOW: Letters To Cleo joins the '90s reunion cycle with a show at Double Door on Friday night (and a "secret" show on Saturday at an undisclosed location). But this is no sentimentality tour, no! The band just released their first new music in 17 years, the Back To Nebraska EP, and it is excellent. It's 5 songs find the band in fine form, packing in hook after hook to bolster Kay Hanley's hasn't-aged-a-day vocals. Tickets are $25.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5
CONTEMPORARY INDIE: Our ears would describe Mitski as adult contemporary for the hipster set. The accomplished, self-assured songwriter's arrangements hover in the mid-tempo range for most of the time, but inventive sonic shifts help keep things moving along and sounding fresh. Mitski has been getting lots of love from the NPR and NYT set, and we think the kudos coming her way are definitely well earned. Mitski plays Thalia Hall on Saturday and tickets are $26.
SAVAGE GAMES: If you’re sitting in your living room watching American Ninja Warrior thinking how fun it would be to tackle that obstacle course, you need to enter Savage Games. The competition combines different challenges at climbing community space Brooklyn Boulders Chicago. Tackle tire flips, parkour, wall runs and vault boxes and more while pushing your workout to the next level. Groups of five or singles welcome. 7:15 a.m. Entry is $49 ($59 day of).
Photo via Mac & Cheese Fest.
MAC + CHEESE FEST: Mac & Cheese is great whether it’s dressed up or down, and there will be 50 varieties to try at this weekend’s Mac & Cheese Fest at the UIC Forum. There will be two sessions--lunch and dinner, naturally--with 50 Chicago chefs at each. See if AMK Kitchen Bar and Auntie Vee's retain their titles as last year’s best. Tickets are $65.
Image via Nature Museum's Facebook page.
LIVE FROGS: The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum opens a new exhibit--we mean ex-“ribbit”--called Frogs: A Chorus of Colors. There are more than 70 different exotic frogs of all different colors and climates on display in this interactive exhibit where guests can glide on a mini-zip line, test their jumping skills and listen to recorded frog calls. The exhibit runs through Jan. 22.
HCL OPEN HOUSE: See what the Sponsored Artists of High Concept Labs have been up to at their Fall Open House from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at Mana Contemporary Chicago. The biannual event combines art with socializing as artists and audiences come together. The evening includes works-in-progress, performances, installations, music, and film screenings plus typical party fare of light bites and specialty drinks. Tickets start at $15.
DANCE CUBA: Cuba is heating up as the travel embargo is lifted, and you can get a taste of Cuban dance culture this weekend at Auditorium Theatre. Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba will show off the nation’s music and dance from the 1950s to today in Cuba Vibra!. Tickets start at $30.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6
STRANGE FOODS FEST: Foods that seem strange to some can be traditional to others, and Chicago’s first Strange Foods Festival will spotlight some of the city’s authentic ethnic foods. The fest started by Instagrammer Strangefoodschicago features 15 local restaurants with cuisine from around the world including Immm Rice and Beyond (Northen Thailand), HoneyDoe (Syria), Tropicuba (Cuba) and Shokran (Morocco). The afternoon at Moonlight Studios includes beer, wine and entertainment. 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $55.
STRANGE MUSIC: S U R V I V E is a synth group out of Austin best known as the quartet that composed the soundtrack for one of our favorite new series this year, Stranger Things. The group's debut RR7349 is filled with the moody atmospheric '80s aesthetic that endeared them to fans of the Netflix series. Personally we find this full length even more satisfying since each song is given plenty of time to slowly creep along and make its full self known, as opposed to the time constraints set on the snippets that comprised most of their Stranger Things soundtrack work. The band plays The Empty Bottle this Sunday and while advance tickets are sold out, a limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
RISOTTO 101: Not every venture in the kitchen is a successful one, and if you’ve ever tried to make risotto, you know how true that statement is. Let Animale show you the way with their Risotto 101 Class from 2 to 4 p.m. Chef Fulvio Siccardi of Ristorante Conti Roero will lead the way with a recipe that will be featured at sister restaurant Osteria Langhe later in the evening. Cost is $15 per person. Register by calling Animale at 872-315-3912.
Image via Logan Square Farmers Market's website.
INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Just because winter is coming doesn’t mean we have to give up on fresh goods from the farmers market. Logan Square Farmers Market heads indoors at at the old Pierre's Bakery from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find staple items and specialty goods like seasonal soups, cheeses, cured meats, juice, pies and breads. Entry is free.