Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Thursday, December 12
Devil Music Ensemble performs its original score for the 1922 silent western Big Stakes during this screening tonight at 7:30 PM. Free, in the Claudia Cassidy Theater. 78 E Washington St. For more information, call 312-744-6630 or visit the website.
Are you an artist looking for a home? Try the Creative Chicago Space + Housing Expo. From 10am to 3pm today, this free event supports "creatives" seeking housing, studio, and performance space with a range of seminars and more than 80 exhibitors throughout the building. At the Chicago Cultural Center 78 E. Washington St. For more information, call 312-744-6630 or visit the website.
This screening of the 1970 adaptation of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel is followed by a moderated discussion. 7 PM, in the Video Theatre. Free. 400 S. State Street. For more information, call 312-747-1194 or visit the website.
The UIC Institute for the Humanities presents a conference on globalism and film history, exploring "the influence of social change and recent research on perspectives of film and its history." Leading scholars, critics, filmmakers and industry representatives will offer thoughts on film's influence on cultures and subcultures, the impact of new techologies and changes to global and local funding and distribution. April 6-9 at 750 S. Halsted, Room 605. Free and open to the public. Call 312-996-6354 for more information.
Join Chicago Chorale, a 50-voice amateur choral ensemble, for a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor. The performance goes on at 7pm at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 850 S. Woodlawn Ave. Regular tickets are $18; $12 for students. Purchase them online or at the door. Email info[at]chicagochorale[dot]org for more information.
The Busby Berkeley musical with Carmen Miranda, The Gang's All Here plays on the screen at LaSalle Bank Cinema tonight. Also on the bill is the 1937 musical short "Pot Luck." Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for seniors and kids. 8pm at 4901 W. Irving Park Rd. Call 312-904-9442 for more information.
Jessica Abel, former Chicago resident, stops by Quimby's today at 7:00 PM to sign copies of her latest book La Perdida. The even is free and open to the public. Quimby's: 1854 W. North. (773) 342-0910.
The folks who live and work at the Flat Iron Arts Building open their studios on the Saturday afternoon following the first Friday of every month so you can wander through the maze of galleries and peruse the work of dozens of artists. Free, 12 N to 5 PM. 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. For more information, call 773-486-6055.
As the weather starts to get warmer, you may be thinking about growing things in your yard or on your deck, if you’re lucky enough to have some outdoor space. Consider this organic gardening class at the Garfield Park Conservatory, which covers the best plants for spring gardens and techniques for growing them successfully. It runs from 10 AM to 12 N this morning, requires pre-registration, and costs only $5. 300 N Central Park Avenue. For more information, call 773-638-1766 or visit the website.
Chicago is home to many national conventions and exhibitions, least of all is the Nation's Largest Educational Reptile and Amphibian Show known as ReptileFest. At the show, you can't buy animals, but you can talk to experts, crawl with tortoises, touch or hold alligators and giant snakes (!), plus much more. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for kids 3-11. Look around town and online for coupons. It's all happening April 8-9 from 10am to 5pm at the UIC P.E. building located at 901 W. Roosevelt Road.
Meet at the Flying Saucer (1123 N. California Ave) at 6 PM for a guided tour (featuring real naturalists!) of the amphibious hotspots of Humboldt and other Chicago parks. Email Katy for more info.
In an effort to get you the sweetest vinyl for your collection, and to raise a bit of dough for the station, WLUW 88.7FM puts on a fine record fair every spring. The fair runs Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-5pm (Saturday Pre-Admission 8am-10am entitles free admission for entire weekend) at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, 1419 W. Blackhawk, Chicago (near North Ave. and 90/94). There's gonna be live music and cool dj's plus extra vendors in booths selling and telling about all sorts of stuff. Check the website for vendor info, parking, and directions. Admission is around $7 (or discounted if you can grab some of their sweet discount ads in publications like Time Out and the Chicago Reader).