Calendar 12/6/17

Bulletin

“I Am Enough” Healing Workshop Series

The R.J. Cafe, 1238 W. 51st St. Saturday, December 9, 10am–2pm. Free. 21+. Register online at bit.ly/AmEnough

The Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices has developed a six-month workshop series to help women overcome the trauma of the loss of a loved one as a result of gun violence or the incarceration of a loved one. (Samantha Smylie)

The Dovetail Project 16th Graduation

DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Pl. Thursday, December 14, 7pm. RSVP at info@thedovetailproject.org by December 12. thedovetailproject.org

The Dovetail Project, a twelve-week program for young fathers to learn parenting and life skills, will be graduating its sixteenth class. The event will feature a keynote speech from Jahmal Cole, the founder of the nonprofit My Block, My Hood, My City. (Rachel Kim)

Unidos por Pilsen

Oasis Banquet Hall, 2053 W. 18th St. Friday, December 15, 7pm–midnight. $25 suggested donation. bit.ly/PilsenUnidos

The nonprofit Pilsen Alliance will be hosting a celebration commemorating nineteen years of grassroots organizing in the community. With a star-studded lineup including Alderman Carlos Rosa as the keynote speaker, comedy from Jaime de Leon, and music from Son Monarcas and DJ El Rebel X, the event promises to be a night of celebration and inspiration. (Rachel Kim)

Melanin Voices for Puerto Rico

The Breathing Room Space, 1434 W. 51st St. Friday, December 15, 8:30pm–10:30pm. Tickets $10–$20. bit.ly/MelaninVoicesPR

A g Thing!, #LetUsBreathe Collective, and the Chicago Boricua Resistance are hosting a fundraiser to support folks in Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricane Maria. The event promises a series of poetry and literature from “unsung voices.” (Rachel Kim)

Hashtag Lunchbag Chicago

The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Saturday, December 16, 10am–noon. $10 suggested donation. promontorychicago.com

Join Hashtag Lunchbag Chicago at the Promontory to prepare and distribute a thousand lunches to Chicago’s homeless community. It’s a fun easy way for all ages to volunteer.  (Samantha Smylie)

Visual Arts

YCA On The Block: Pilsen

La Catrina Café, 1011 W. 18th St. Friday, December 8, 6pm–8pm. Free. bit.ly/YCAOnTheBlock

In collaboration with Yollocalli Arts Reach and La Catrina Café, Young Chicago Authors has been hosting free open mics and workshops every Friday. Come through and learn how to write poems and hear others perform. (Roderick Sawyer)

Crafts and Storytime with Author Pam Saxelby!

57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St. Saturday, December 9, 10:30am–11am. Free. 57th.semcoop.com

Saturday is storytime day this week at 57th Street Books. Author Pam Saxelby will be reading her book Max and Bear, “a story of patience and friendship about the importance of waiting for things to come.” After the storytime, children can stick around to make a bear of their own! (Andrew Koski)

Discussion with Lynne Tillman

UofC Classics Building, 1010 E. 59 St., Room 110. Wednesday, December 6, 6pm. Free.  (773) 702-8670. renaissancesociety.org

Lynne Tillman, author of What Would Lynne Tillman Do? and the forthcoming novel Men and Apparitions, talks with artist Alejandro Cesarco about narrative tropes and playing with genre. (Adia Robinson)

People’s School: The Art of Storytelling

Port Ministries, 5013 S. Hermitage Ave. December 9–February 24, Saturdays, 9:30am. 19+. Free. (773) 778-5955. facebook.com/theportministries

This bilingual workshop, aimed at women, is an open studio where participants can work on their personal art projects and share their stories. Discussions will focus on current social issues and personal narratives. (Adia Robinson)

Prints of Unusual Size

Hoofprint Workshop, 2433 S. Oakley Ave. Saturday, December 9, 7pm–10pm. Free. (773) 896-4326. facebook.com/hoofprintChicago

In their last show before they move to a new location and in their last show of the year, Hoofprint Workshop will feature seven “enormous” woodcuts, which they call some of their most ambitious to date. There will be a live writing demonstration, a holiday bazaar, snacks, and libations. (Adia Robinson)

Music

Rai Presents: Luz y Sombra EP Release

The Dojo, message on Facebook for address. Saturday, December 9, 8:30pm. $5 donation. thedojochi.com

Contrasting the “stellar melodies of hope” with the “dark sounds of reality,” Luz y Sombra is a dynamic and long awaited EP by Rai, Décima, Lester Rey, and Swooning. Come to the Dojo to be the first to hear it and also enjoy live art by Meli Alvarez Juarez and Ariana Romero. (Maddie Anderson)

Chicago Afrobeat Project Album Release

Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Saturday, December 16, 8pm. $13/$15, vinyl + ticket $30. 17+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com

This fifteen-year veteran group of the North American Afrobeat scene comes to Reggies to celebrate their new album What Goes Up and their new vocal approach. Come to Reggies yourself to celebrate some of these vocalists—Akenya, Ugochi, JC Brooks, and Legit among them. (Julia Aizuss)

International Anthem Winter Solstice

Logan Hardware Records, 2532 W. Fullerton Ave. Sunday, December 17, 5:30pm–9pm. intlanthem.com

Yes, we know, this is in Logan Square—but the Bridgeport-based label’s third annual “observation of soup, solstice, and psychedelic sound” seems worth the trek. Come early for soup from the crockpot; come whenever for solo cornet by Ben LaMar Gay (accompanied by “live quadra-scopic video manipulation”), an animated short film, and two yet-to-be-announced guest performances. (Julia Aizuss)

Roy Ayers

The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Wednesday, December 20, 9pm. $25–$55. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com

The Godfather of Neo-Soul, Roy Ayers, comes to the Promontory this December with his generation and genre bridging hits, such as “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”, “Searchin’,” and “Running Away.” (Adia Robinson)

Party Noire presents Black Metropolis New Year’s Eve 2017

The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave.  Wednesday, December 31, 9pm. $75–$100. 21+ (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com

This New Year’s Eve, the hottest party in Hyde Park will be at the Promontory. “The Black Metropolis is an Afrofuturistic haven where politics dissolve, and the people unite. Step into space with us, create your own orbit of joy, and cultivate a frequency of love.” Special guest artists will give live performances, surprise artists will be making appearances, and there will be music curated by DJ Rae Chardonnay and Party Noire resident DJ Lisa Decibel. Make sure to snag a ticket because you’ll get “tasty hors d’oeuvres, a two-hour open bar, a midnight champagne toast, and an assortment of goodies from local Hyde Park favorites.” (Andrew Koski)

Stage & Screen

A Different World

Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Friday, December 8, 7pm–9pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org

Black Cinema House partners with Black millennial marketing agency, Afrotrak, to screen four episodes of everyone’s favorite Cosby Show spinoff, A Different World. The eighties/nineties TV show will spark discussion afterwards on issues relevant both then and now: rape culture, HIV stigma, black womanhood, and more. (Julia Aizuss)

Deeply Rooted: Deeply Free 20th Anniversary Finale

Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. INDUMBA, Friday, December 8, 7:30pm–9:30pm; Repertory Classics, Saturday, December 9, 7:30pm–9:30pm and Sunday, December 10, 2pm–4pm. $45. bit.ly/DeeplyRooted20

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater will be celebrating their twentieth anniversary with a special show and two nights of classic performances from their repertoire. Come on Friday for the premiere of INDUMBA by South African choreographer Fana Tshabalala and on Saturday and Sunday for Femme by Nicole Clarke-Springer, Desire by Gary Abbott, and In A Child’s Eye and Church of Nations by Kevin Iega Jeff. (Andrew Koski)

“The 90’s”: Architecture and Design

Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Sunday, December 10, 2pm and 3pm. Free. southsideprojections.org

This week at HPAC, catch an architecture- and design-themed episode of The 90’s, an award-winning Chicago-based PBS series that an August 1990 issue of Billboard described as: “easily the most important and innovative news show on the air, a show that does all the things that television was born to do but never does.” Each episode featured short videos produced by filmmakers across the country that focused on a particular topic; this episode includes panhandlers in Philadelphia, a man who built a bicycle-towed tent for the homeless, the first McDonald’s in Moscow, and the Granada Theater’s demolition in Chicago, among others. (Andrew Koski)

Hot Kitchen: Teen Heat

High Concept Labs, 2233 S. Throop St. Friday, December 8–Sunday, December 10, 8:30pm. $10 suggested donation. highconceptlaboratories.org

Although not intended as such, the driving question of the performance collective Hot Kitchen’s newest piece—“How do we resist home, and how do we also miss it so dearly?”—may well have extra resonance during the onset of the holiday season. Although formed in and based out of Chicago, the collective’s members will here explore their Floridian roots. (Julia Aizuss)

Mrs. Claus! A Holiday Musical

Beverly Art Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Tuesday, December 6–Friday, December 8; Monday, December 11–Saturday, December 23, various times. $12, $8 each for groups. (773) 205-9600. chicagokidscompany.com

The show that “always sells out” is back for its nineteenth year, this time at the Beverly Art Center. Children ages two through ten—and hopefully their parents—will surely love this colorful “Holiday Classic” that, naturally, celebrates the holiday spirit, and also elves. (Julia Aizuss)

Meet Juan(ito) Doe

Free Street Storyfront, 4346 S. Ashland Ave. Through December 15. Mondays and Fridays, 7:30pm. Free or pay-what-you-can; advance tickets starting at $5. (773) 772-7248. freestreet.org

Free Street Theater’s latest play, created by multidisciplinary artist Ricardo Gamboa in collaboration with Ana Velasquez and “an ensemble of brown and down Chi-towners.” It was supposed to close in November, but now that its run has been extended for a month, you have no excuse for missing out on this play based on the true stories and input of Back of the Yards residents—you won’t find anything like it anywhere else in the city. (Julia Aizuss)

eta Family Theatre Initiative: “The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves”

eta Creative Arts, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave. Through Saturday, December 23. $40, discounts available for seniors and students. (773) 752-3955. etacreativearts.org

Nora Brooks Blakely’s musical adaptation of a book by her mother Gwendolyn Brooks was already a fitting choice, in the year of the Brooks centennial, to start off eta’s 2017–18 season. Even more fitting, given Brooks’s dedication to youth poetry, is that the musical will launch eta’s partnership with the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation. The initiative will encourage Chicago students to read the book and then to see the musical. (Julia Aizuss)

Food & Land

Clean Water Open House

Chicago Group of the Sierra Club, 70 E. Lake St. Wednesday, December 6, 6pm–8pm. (773) 612-7271. illinois.sierraclub.org/chicago

Interested in hearing about the Chicago Sierra Club’s past and ongoing efforts monitoring pollution in local waterways, campaigning to preserve funding for the EPA and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and planning educational events? This meeting will get you up to speed and no doubt connect you with like-minded people. Snacks and drinks provided. (Emeline Posner)

South Lakefront Framework Plan Meetings

South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr. Thursday, December 7, 6pm–9pm, and Monday, December 11, 6pm–9pm. bit.ly/FrameworkPlanMeeting

At this first of two collaborative meetings, hosted by the Chicago Park District, South Shore residents will hear from planners about the three potential plans that have been developed for the Jackson Park and South Shore Cultural Center. Questions and comments are strongly encouraged, as “insights from park users will be instrumental” in moving forward with the planning process. (Emeline Posner)

Healthy Eating Active Living/Vivendo Una Vida Saludable y Activa

Dvorak Park, 1119 W. Cullerton St. Saturday, December 9, 2pm–5pm. Free. (312) 243-5440. bit.ly/VivendoUnaVida

Come by Dvorak Park for an afternoon hosted by Pilsen Alliance of free education and information about health and wellness resources, health practices from the Ayurveda tradition (a holistic healing system originating in India), and marketplace insurance. There will be yoga, reiki, and refreshments available at the event, as well as free childcare. (Emeline Posner)

Starting a Food Business

The Hatchery, Industrial Council of Northwest Chicago, 320 N. Damen Ave. Monday, December 11, 6pm–8pm. $40. RSVP required. (312) 421-3941. thehatcherychicago.org

So, you want to start a food business. What sort of license will you need? Do you structure your business as an “S” corp or a limited liability company? How will you brand your business? This short seminar will cover all these questions, and more, and a business attorney will be present to answer any thorny legal questions that arise. (Emeline Posner)

Beginning Farmer of the Year Nomination

Submission due by January 12 to Advocates for Urban Agriculture, info@auachicago.org. (773) 850-0428. Details: bit.ly/FarmerOf2018

New to sustainable farming, and want to share your accomplishments to date? The Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) wants to hear from you in the form of three-minute video submissions. All videos received will be posted on the AUA website and voted on by viewers. The winning submission will be nominated by AUA for a $1,000 prize. (Emeline Posner)