Bulletin
Pathways to Economic Security
Teamwork Englewood, 815 W. 63rd St. 2nd fl, US Bank Building. Wednesday, July 12, 10 am–1pm. Free. (773) 488-6600. bit.ly/WomansInitiative
From Englewood? Ready for a career? You’re invited to check out this kick-off event for an initiative hoping to prepare fifty-plus Englewood women for careers in manufacturing, construction, or entrepreneurship. (Margaret Tazioli)
Black Women & Youth Mental Wellness Expo
AKArama Community Service Center, 6220 S. Ingleside Ave. Saturday, July 8, 1pm–5:30pm. Free, registration required online. (312) 880-9739. bit.ly/BlkMWE
This “first of its kind” event seeks to connect community with a wide range of quality mental health and wellness resources, inspirational speakers, and engaging workshops. Although primarily targeted to address the needs of Black women and youth, all are welcome. Vendors have been invited from the following practices: therapy, social work, substance abuse, counseling, holistic healers, fitness coaches, and clinics. (Nicole Bond)
Stress Reduction Training
Imagine Englewood If, 730 W. 69th St. Monday, July 10, 17, 24, 31, and August 7, 3:30pm–5pm. Free. (312) 437-0796. bit.ly/ReduceStressEnglewood
Join the Phoenix Diverse Holistics Collaborative and Imagine Englewood If for the second part of stress reduction trainings for the community. There will talking circles, yoga, and self-care massages to help the body release stress. (Margaret Tazioli).
Crash Course in College Prep
CPL South Shore Branch, 2505 E. 73rd St. Saturday, July 15, 1pm–4:30pm. Free with RSVP. bit.ly/CollegeCrashCourse
Project Increase, Chicago Scholars, and Oink Group Inc. will be hosting a “Crash Course in College Prep”—a session just for parents, mentors, and other adults on successfully navigating the college process with their children. (Andrew Koski)
Woodlawn Food Truck Festival
6100 S. Champlain Ave. Sunday, July 16, 10am–6:30pm. Free. bit.ly/WFoodTruckFest
Once you’ve finished feeding your brain at the second annual Soulful Chicago Book Fair, there’s no need to venture far to get the rest of your fill. The Woodlawn Food Truck Festival, featuring a lineup of the city’s favorite dives on wheels, will be sure to satisfy hungry fairgoers and everyone else in the community. (Sara Cohen)
Fishin’ Buddies! Kids’ Fest
Wampum Lake, Thorton Lansing Rd. & Willigan Rd., Thorton, IL 60476. Saturday, July 8, 10am–4pm. Free, registration online. (708) 386-4042. fishin-buddies.net/kidsfest.
Enjoy the summer sunshine and head to the shores of Wampum Lake for a day of canoeing, fishing, archery, and more with Fishin’ Buddies! The Washington Heights-based organization aims to provide nature encounters for Chicago children and families. (Lois Biggs)
Visual Arts
The 14th Annual Silver Room Sound System Block Party
Harper Court, 1525 E. 53rd St. Saturday, July 15, 12pm–10pm. Free. (773) 947-0024. silverroomblockparty.com
Dance, sing, and celebrate community at this block party in the heart of Hyde Park. Presented by boutique and art space The Silver Room, the event is expected to attract large crowds—15,000, if it keeps up last year’s numbers. Keep an eye out for exciting performer and vendor announcements in the coming weeks! (Lois Biggs)
The 43rd Annual Arts and Crafts Festival
DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl. July 8-9. Saturday–Sunday, 12pm–10pm. Free. (773) 947-0600. dusablemuseum.org
The DuSable Museum’s 43rd Arts and Crafts Festival honors the one-hundredth birthday of Dr. Margaret Burroughs, whose long legacy of contributions to the city’s cultural and arts scenes includes the Black art and history–focused museum and festival themselves. Browse jewelry, pottery, fashion items, paintings, and more. (Sara Cohen)
A Pop Up Called Saturday
La Catrina Café, 1011 W. 18th St. Saturday, July 15, July 15, 3pm-8pm. Free, but donations are appreciated. bit.ly/PopUpCalledSaturday
Come on down to La Catrina Café in Pilsen for a Saturday night of poetry, Latin music, vintage clothes, and local artists! There will even be a cash bar—“If you’re not going to see A Tribe Called Quest at Pitchfork, then you have no reason to miss this.” (Andrew Koski)
AMFM presents The Jazz Series at Blanc
Blanc Gallery, 4445 S. King Dr. Friday, July 7, 7pm. (773) 373-4320. $5 pre-sale, $7 at the door. bit.ly/AMFMBlanc
The next iteration of amfm’s Jazz Series, a pop-up music and art showcase in gallery spaces across the city, will be set outdoors and feature the artists Olivier Jean Daniel Souffrant and Bunny, as well as music by Matt Muse, Shawnee Dez, Red, and The Knuckles. There’s rain in the forecast, but come anyway in hopes that you can take full advantage of Blanc’s “huge patio.” (Julia Aizuss)
Music
Jamila Woods
Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. July 13th, 8:30pm. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com
Jamila Woods: she’s somewhere between Gwendolyn Brooks and Erykah Badu, but is something else altogether. The vocalist/poet/artist is coming to Thalia Hall to give a special “In Round Performance,” where the stage—positioned in the center—is encircled by audience. Come to get a fresh perspective on this talented native Chicagoan. (Michael Wasney)
Blue Summer
The Dojo, message on Facebook for address. July 8, 7pm. $5 donation suggested. bit.ly/DojoBlueSummer
The Dojo presents “Blue Summer,” a night of music, art, and community. Four music groups—Woodrow Hart & the Haymaker, Clamor and Claw, Peggy Tenderass, and Red 255—will perform alongside the “Blue Summer Art Room” that’s been created. The Dojo’s gallery space will showcase the work of multiple other artists. (Michael Wasney)
Jazz in the Courtyard
Hyde Park Shopping Center, 55th St. and Lake Park Ave. Friday, July 7, 12pm–2pm, and every first Friday through September 1. Free. hpjazz.com
Nothing says summer in Hyde Park like the annual free live jazz concerts every first Friday at the Hyde Park Shopping Center. Grab lunch from any of the many restaurants nearby, then sit outside to enjoy the sounds of the Bosman Twins on July 7, the Chris Foreman Quintet August 4, and the Chicago State University Community Jazz Band conducted by Roxanne Stevenson on September 1. (Nicole Bond)
Larry Brown Jr.
Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Sunday, July 9, 7pm. $5-$10. 21+ (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com
Chicago-based musician Larry Brown Jr. describes his sound as a “blend of jazz and R&B with a singer/songwriter’s touch the likes of Prince & James Taylor.” He’s been making waves in the international jazz scene too—he’s played festivals including the St. Louis Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival New York, and the Lima Jazz Festival, and he recently performed with the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. And he just made his acting debut this year on the hit series Empire, playing Snoop Dogg’s lead guitar player. Check out his sophomore album, This Music & This Moment, with his band Colour, and come down to Reggies for a night of great tunes. (Andrew Koski)
Chanté Moore
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. 6pm doors, 7pm show. Thursday, July 13. $22-$46. 312-801-2100. promontorychicago.com
R&B songstress and Grammy winner Chanté Moore, lately of the reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles and perhaps most famously of the 1999 single “Chanté’s Got a Man,” is stopping by the Promontory for an evening of past hits and new songs from her ninth album, Rise of the Phoenix, slated to be released in September. (Sam Stecklow)
Stage & Screen
Chicago Premiere: No Borders Documentary
Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Saturday, July 8, 7pm–10pm. $5–$10 suggested donation to Sur Negro Comunicaciones, no one turned away for lack of funds. (773) 837-0145. bit.ly/NoBordersDoc
The Chicago chapter of Black Rose / Rosa Negra, an anarchist group, supported the production of the web series “No Borders, Social Struggles across the world / Sin Fronteras, La lucha social a través del mundo” and now hosts its Chicago premiere. Addressing anti-capitalist resistance worldwide, the series in particular hones in on “anti-authoritarian practices within social movements.” (Julia Aizuss)
Margaret Burroughs Centennial Film Series: Camille Billops and James Hatch
DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl. Tuesday, July 11, 7pm. Free. (773) 947-0600. dusablemuseum.org
South Side Projections’s partnership with the DuSable continues with this presentation of the filmmaking duo Camille Billops and James Hatch. 1982 drama Suzanne, Suzanne takes on physical and psychological abuse, while Finding Christa, winner of the 1991 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, explores the nuances of adoption. The films will be introduced by UofC film professor and Black Cinema House curator Jacqueline Stewart. (Nicole Bond)
Court Theatre Spotlight Reading Series: Buffalo Hair
NEIU Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, 700 E. Oakwood Blvd. Monday, July 10, 6:30pm. Free and open to the public, but space is extremely limited. courttheatre.org
This is the second year for Court and resident artist Ron OJ Parson’s three-year initiative that brings plays by playwrights of color to Chicago neighborhoods. Buffalo Hair, written by Carlyle Brown and also directed by Parson, is a tale set in 1874 about a test of loyalties between the post-civil war Buffalo Soldiers, the U.S Army, and a Black warrior who identified as a Cheyenne. Stay afterward for a Q&A session led by both Parson and Brown. (Nicole Bond)
Hyde Park Community Players: Twelfth Night
Location to be confirmed, but very possibly Nichols Park, 1355 E. 53rd St. Friday–Saturday, July 14–16 and July 21–23, 7pm. Free. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is coming to the South Side. The Hyde Park Community Players, directed by Leslie Halverson, will be performing it six times between the 14th and the 23rd—every time, outdoors, and every time, free. So what excuse do you have? Come on down to enjoy one of the Bard’s cheekiest comedies. (Michael Wasney)
Insecure: A Kitchen Table Conversation
CPL Blackstone Branch, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave. Wednesday, July 19, 6pm–7:30pm. Free. (312) 747-1425. chipublib.org
Join the Chicago Public Library’s African-American Services Committee for a lively panel discussion all about season one of Golden Globe nominee Issa Rae’s HBO hit show Insecure. Discuss the show’s powerful themes and complex characters and decide if you are #TeamIssa or #TeamLawrence just in time to get ready for season two, which premieres on July 23. (Nicole Bond)
How Is My Kid Doing?
Gary Comer Youth Center, 7200 S. Ingleside Ave. Thursday, July 6, 6:30pm–8pm. Free. To RSVP email shaynes@gcychome.org. (773) 358-4100. garycomeryouthcenter.org
This free documentary film screening, presented as part of GCYC Uplift adult community programming, explores how youth from various communities, including Chicago, are impacted by unequal education. There will be free refreshments and a discussion after the film with the filmmakers. (Nicole Bond)
A Night at the Movies: Within Our Gates
Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Thursday, July 13, 8pm–9:30pm. Free, donations will be taken for the musicians. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
Oscar Micheaux, the first major Black feature filmmaker credited with over forty-four films, tells the story of a woman who travels north to raise funds to keep a southern school for Black children open, but she discovers more than fundraising along the way. This 1920 silent film, Within Our Gates, is presented as part of the Comfort Station Silent Films and Loud Music Series, which pairs classic silent films with unconventional bands—at this event, local composer and performer Paul Giallorenzo. (Nicole Bond)
The Artists Lounge Open Mic
South Side Community Arts Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Friday, July 7 and usually every first and third Friday, 7pm–10:30pm. $7, $5 performers. (773) 373-1026. sscartcenter.org
This multi-genre open mic, started in 2015 as a collaboration between wordsmiths Dometi Pongo and Johnetta “Awthentic Poetry”Anderson, is back for the summer in July. Poets, singers, emcees, musicians, and visual artists alike can showcase their talent most first and third Fridays of the month at their newest home, the historic South Side Community Arts Center. (Nicole Bond)
Soulful Chicago Book Fair
E. 61st St. between S. Martin Luther King Dr. and S. Cottage Grove Ave. Sunday, July 16, 10am–8pm. (646) 359-6605. soulfulchicagobookfair.com
The Soulful Chicago Book Fair will bring more than one hundred Black authors, such as the writers from F.L.O.W—For the Love of Writing, previously featured in the Weekly, and Grammy-level entertainment, to a stretch of 61st Street south of Washington Park in the Woodlawn neighborhood. It’s billed as Chicago’s only author-centric festival, with each block featuring a different genre. (Joseph S. Pete)