Gapers Block has ceased publication.

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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TODAY

Friday, March 29

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Pickle Dance @ Hideout

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op is holding their second annual Pickle Dance at the Hideout. It's a family event, held in the afternoon from 2-4pm, featuring live music by Kiddiehuff (aka local indie band Ballyhuff), a Pickle Dance contest, prizes, food, crafts and more. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for kids 14 and under and $12 for families. The Hideout is located at 1354 W. Wabansia. Call 773-227-4433 for more information.

Monty Python's Meaning of Life @ Film Center

The Gene Siskel Film Center presents a screening of four essential Monty Python films during the month of July. Tonight's film is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, the film that won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1983. The film screens tonight at 8:00 PM and Thursday, July 27 at 6:00 PM. See the Film Center Website for a complete schedule of films. Tickets: $9, $7 for students, $5 for Film Center members. Film Center: 164 N. State. (312) 846-2600.

House Theatre benefit @ Tree Studios

The House Theatre of Chicago is holding a supersecret ceremony tonight, and you're invited! It's the first annual Gathering of the Secret Order of the Magic Pearl, and it's supposedly a ceremony that happens just before a new House Theatre production opens. The theatre is promising an evening of storytelling, music and food & drink, with WBEZ personalities Ira Glass and Peter Sagal as your hosts. The show happens at Tree Studios (4 E. Ohio) and begins at 7:00 PM. For reservations, call (773) 251-2195.

National Hip Hop Political Convention

This year's National Hip Hop Political Convention will be held at Northeastern's Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, 700 E. Oakwood Blvd. Focusing on commerce, grassroots activism, personal and collective responsibility, community development and civic participation, among other things, the convention aims to educate and engage youth to help shape the future of our county. The convention runs through July 23, with various workshops and lectures scheduled throughout the days. A complete schedule of events can be obtained here. Attendees must register and can do so online through July 23 with a $55 fee. Email Convention Chair TJ Crawford at chiloc[at]gmail[dot]com for more information.

Tour de Biergarten

The Logan Square Draught Beer Preservation Society presents The 2nd Annual Tour de Biergarten, A Bicycle Tour of Chicago's Finest Garden Taps today from 2pm till whenever. It's free, although you'll have to pay for any beers you drink.
Draught Itinerary:
2pm Happy Village (1059 N Wolcott Ave)
3pm Ten Cat (3931 N Ashland Ave)
4pm Village Tap (2055 W Roscoe St)
5pm Cheif O'Neils (3471 N Elston Ave) Lunch stop here
7pm Kuma's Corner (2900 W Belmont Ave)
8pm Small Bar (2956 N Albany Ave)

Bike School @ Chicagoland Bicycle Federation

CBF is offering a daylong session designed to give riders more confidence in traffic, including strategies for responding quickly to avoid danger. In addition, the class discusses carrying stuff on your bike, and getting to your destination "looking and smelling good." 9 W Hubbard, Ste 402. $70, advance registration required: email school [at] biketraffic [dot] org or call (312) 427-3325, ext. 100.

Carmina Burana @ Millennium Park

This Grant Park Music Festival concert starts at 7:30 PM. In the Pritzker Pavillion, free. For more information, visit the website.

Dragon Boat Race for Literacy

Join others as they compete and cheer on the teams in dragon boats as they race along the Chicago River, all in the name literacy. There will be music, food, crafts and performances from cultural centers throughout the city at this yearly boat race. Admission is free at Ping Tom Memorial Park, 300 W. 19th St. 9am-4pm. Call the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce for information or to register a racing team at 312-326-5320. More information is also available in this pdf.

Gay Games closing ceremony

Certain White Sox fans like to call Wrigley Field "the world's largest gay bar" as though it's an insult, but this afternoon it's just the god's honest truth. Headliner Cyndi Lauper is joined by Kristine W, Ari Gold, Eric Himan, comedians Poppy Champlin and Ant, BETTY and the cast of The L Word, and more. Chicago singer-songwriter Dylan Rice will be joined by other Chicago musicians including Chuck Panozzo (of Styx!) and Stewed Tomatoes to perform Rice's song for the Games, "The Faces of Victory." 3pm. $50-90. Tickets.GayGamesChicago.org.

Redmoon Theater's The Balloon Man @ Millennium Park

Redmoon Theater presents The Balloon Man, a show for kids and adults alike. "A roving team of scientists recruit a hapless children's entertainer and an intrepid youngster named Beatrice to search for that rarest of species — the wild Picnob!" The show includes 5 songs by local band The Bitter Tears, puppets, and a bit of science involving balloons. The Balloon Man happens at the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park today at 1:00 PM and also at 4:00 PM. The show will also be performing at other times this weekend: check the Millennium Park family events schedule for a list of showtimes. The show is free and open to the public.

Veggie Bike and Dine

The third annual Veggie Bike and Dine starts in Evanston at Turin Bicycle, 1027 Davis, at 1 PM, and ends in Edgewater four hours later. Food stops include Ten Thousand Villages, Mysore Woodlands, and Ras Dashen. Registration is required and costs $35, or $30 if you're a sponsoring organization member. For more information, call 312-427-3325, ext. 224, or visit the website.

Opening: Crossroads: Modernism in Ukraine @ Cultural Center

This is the first major US exhibition of Ukranian paintings from 1900 to 1930, and includes internationally known artists as well as less well known painters. If you like modernist art, don't miss this show. In the Exhibit Hall until 15 October. Free, 77 E Washington. For more information, call 312-744-6630 or visit the website.

Compost as Mulch: Beating Heat and Drought @ Garfield Park Conservatory

If you're wondering what to do with all that compost, stop by this free session at 10 AM today to learn about applying compost to protect your garden from moisture loss. 300 N Central Park Avenue. For more information, call 773-265-9587 or visit the website.

Work Out @ Millennium Park

Yoga at 8 AM, Pilates at 9 AM, and rhythmic movement at 10 AM, led by the Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago, on the Great Lawn. If you need more incentive than taking in the amazing skyline views while working up a sweat, consider this: it's free. For more information, visit the website.

NuptEquality Fashion and Vendor Showcase

Catalyst Ranch hosts a fashion show and vendor market for same-sex nuptial ceremonies, with Dame Couture and Elda De La Rosa showing collections designed for same sex couples. Proceeds from the show benefit Lambda Legal. Food and wine tastings provided. Dress/cocktail attire required. Tickets $30 individual or $50 couple. 7pm-11pm, Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph Street, 3W. Call for reservations, 312-207-1710.

Mo'Nique and friends @ Park West

Queen of Comedy Mo'Nique returns to Park West tonight, with Tony Sculfield and Rodney Perry, to do a show for geared to the African-American gay community. 8pm. $30 in advance, $35 at the door. 322 W Armitage. Call 773-779-2399 for more info.

Valdez is Coming @ LaSalle Bank Cinema

This 1971 film starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Clark plays tonight as part of LaSalle Bank Cinema's Mustache Cinema Classic Film Series. Also playing is the 1938 serial "The Spider's Web #2: Death Below." General admission to the 8pm show is $5 and $3 for seniors and children. 4901 W. Irving Park. Call 312-904-9442 for more information.

Wicker Park Summer Fest

Benefiting the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, this neighborhood festival offers live music, food from local restaurants, and arts and crafts vendors. 1600 N. Damen, $5 donation. 12 N to 10 PM. For more information, call 773-868-3010 or visit the website.

Summer on Southport

This festival benefits the Southport Neighbors Association and features food from local restaurants, live music, an art show, and more. 3800 N. Southport, $5 donation. 10 AM to 10 PM. For more information, call 877-244-2246 or visit the website.

Sheffield Garden Walk and Festival

Curious about how the other half (or quarter...or tenth) lives? Or at least, how they tend their gardens? This event, which benefits the Sheffield Neighborhood Association, offers workshops and guided architectural tours as well as the usual stuff of neighborhood festivals: live music, food vendors, and kids' activities. 12 N to 9:30 PM, 2200 N. Sheffield, $6 to $10. For more information, call 773-929-9255 or visit the website.

 

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