BULLETIN
Community Business Academy Info Session
Sunshine Enterprises, 503 E. 61st St. Thursday, September 7, 6pm–7pm. Free. (773) 904-9800. RSVP at bit.ly/SEnterprises
Are you a local entrepreneur looking for a way to grow your business? Maybe Sunshine Enterprise’s Community Business Academy can help. With the goal of “growing businesses in struggling communities,” the academy will teach you business principles and match you with experts in your field. (Adia Robinson)
Volunteer Deputy Registrar Training
Avalon Branch, Chicago Public Library, 8148 S. Stony Island Ave. Saturday, September 9, 9:30am–11am. bit.ly/EWAC8RegistrarTraining
Are you a registered Cook County voter and want to play a more active role in the democratic process? Then you should come down to the Avalon Branch library this Saturday for training to become a volunteer deputy registrar. After certification, you will be able to sign up voters anywhere in Illinois. You must register at EWAC8@att.net with your name and address. (Andrew Koski)
McKinley Park Community Tree Plantin
McKinley Park, 3849 S. Hermitage Ave. Saturday, September 16, 9am–1pm. Registration at bit.ly/McKinleyParkOpenlands. (312) 863-6250. openlands.org
McKinley Park is one of the lucky recipients this year of Openlands’s Fall Treeplanters Grants, which fund a community tree planting day on parkland. Volunteers can look forward to planting such species as bur oak, bald cypress, and Kentucky coffee—but you’ll have to go to find out just what your neighborhood will get. (Julia Aizuss)
MCHAP Tête-à-tête
ITT S.R. Crown Hall, 3360 S. State St. Saturday, September 16, 9:30am–noon. (312) 854-8200. chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org
Learn from contributors to the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) about the goals of this recent initiative. The MCHAP was launched by the College of Architecture at ITT to recognize architectural achievement in North and South America. This event is part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. (Adia Robinson)
VISUAL ARTS
The Pre-Vinylette Society
Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted St., Ste. 100. Opening reception September 8, 6pm–10pm. Through September 28. Saturdays, noon–5pm, or by appointment. (312) 735-4223. chicagoartdepartment.org
The International Showcase of Women Sign Painters features the work of more than sixty sign painters from nine countries. This group show displays only the work of female artists, in text-based works on wood, metal and glass. (Joseph S. Pete)
Meeting of Styles 2017: Wall Jamz
2200 W. 59th St., and the intersection 36th St. and Albany Ave. Saturday, September 9, noon–7pm. bit.ly/MOSChicago
With the thirteenth installment of this three-day extravaganza, Chicago’s longest-running graffiti event on its second day features live “Wall Jamz” in West Englewood and Brighton Park. The “Jamz” will be attended both by several graff crews and individual artists—and, perhaps, you. Stick around in the evening for the Meeting of Styles after-party, at South Loop brewery Baderbräu. (Julia Aizuss)
Super Sunday
Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Sunday, September 10, 1pm–5pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org
Every so often, the HPAC hosts a Super Sunday, and every time, yes, they are super worth it. September’s includes family art-making activities, several exhibition receptions, and open studios. Of particular note are a film screening of a documentary concerning art-as-Alzheimer’s-therapy and a public critique with the artists featured in the “Front & Center” exhibition. (Julia Aizuss)
Mie Kongo: Unknown game series
4th Ward Project Space, 5338 S. Kimbark Ave. Artist reception Sunday, September 10, 4pm–7pm. Through October 14. Saturdays, 1pm–5pm, or by appointment. 4wps.org
Tokyo-born and Evanston-based, ceramicist Mie Kongo now heads to Hyde Park to present her multidisciplinary work, which ranges from ceramic to porcelain to two-dimensional art. The exhibition prioritizes “sincere playfulness,” like a sculptural assemblage in which a peach tree branch dons pale pink stoneware as a delicate sort of boot. (Julia Aizuss)
The Making — a preview with Faheem Majeed
Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Tuesday, September 19, 6:30pm–8pm. Free. (773) 241-5458. facebook.com/BlackstoneBikes
In collaboration with Blackstone Bicycle Works and the youth education program at the Experimental Station (the Weekly’s home base), artist Faheem Majeed and choreographer/artistic director Carrie Hanson will preview an excerpt of their film The Making. Majeed is one of three visual artists, and also the director, for the creation of the large-scale painting that will be featured in the film. This event will include performances and conversations. (Roderick Sawyer)
MUSIC
Work on The Sabbath featuring Meagan McNeal
Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Sunday, September 10, 5pm–8pm. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org
A regular Sunday event designed to build community and foster healing through listening to a different artist each week, this upcoming installment will feature neo-soul and R&B singer Meagan McNeal. McNeal is sure to soothe the soul with her “grace, power, and control.” (Nicole Bond)
Summer Sunday Concert Series in Nichols Park
Nichols Park, 1355 E. 53rd St. Through September 17. Sundays, 4pm–6pm. Free. hydepark.org/parks
Every Sunday is rocking in Nichols Park this summer. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket to catch the last few: blues/rock by Moji & The Midnight Sons on September 10 and funk by Neal O’Hara on September 17. (Andrew Koski)
Camp Lo
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Thursday, September 21. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. 21+. $20 standing, $25 per seat, $30 VIP tables. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com
Twenty years after their debut album, Camp Lo brings their latest work, Ragtime Hightimes, to this South Side performance. In this album, the hip-hop duo from the Bronx and their collaborator Ski Beatz are “pushing past boundaries while staying true to their creative vision.” Also performing will be the Los Angeles–based band Urban Renewal Project. (Adia Robinson)
The Skatalites
Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Thursday, September 21, 1pm. 17+. $15 advance, $18 day of show. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com
Originally formed over fifty years ago, The Skatalites are considered one of the founding bands of the ska genre. As the band gained fame, they backed young artists from Toots and The Maytals to Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Even after ska developed into rocksteady and later reggae, the band reformed in the eighties to tour and bring their up-tempo ska beat worldwide. Featuring original alto sax Lester “Ska” Sterling and vocalist Doreen Shaffer, this legendary group should not to be missed. (Andrew Koski)
STAGE & SCREEN
All Def Comedy Showcase
The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Thursday, September 7. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. $10. the-revival.com
Twelve Midwestern comics will tickle your funny bone for a chance to appear on Russell Simmons’ All Def Comedy show coming to HBO this fall. Chastity Washington will host; the featured comics include Baldhead Phillips, Doc Love, Just Nesh, Martini Harris, Shanie D., M. Dubs, and Jay Deep. (Nicole Bond)
C.R.E.A.M.
The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Saturday, September 9. Doors 8:30pm, show 9pm. $15 general admission, $10 students. the-revival.com
Don’t tell the Wu-Tang Clan, but in this case, C.R.E.A.M. stands for Comedy Rules Everything Around Me. The comics Em Brown and Lem Slaughter host a variety show that showcases stand-up, sketch comedy, poetry, music, and “Special Surprise Guests” at the historic Hyde Park venue. (Joseph S. Pete)
The Revival Hour
The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Saturday, September 9, 16, and 23. 7:30pm. $10 general admission, $5 students. the-revival.com
This weekly sketch and improv show curated by Molly Todd features solo comedy and musical performances from various artists throughout the South Side. Come for the hour, and, on September 9, stay for the C.R.E.A.M. (Nicole Bond)
Movies in the Parks: Trolls
Hermitage Park, 5839 S. Wood St. Saturday, September 9, 8pm. Free. All ages. (312) 747-6179. chicagoparkdistrict.com
Treat the kids to a first back-to-school weekend outing to watch the Dreamworks film Trolls, and see if they can recognize the voice of Justin Timberlake as the grumpy troll Branch. Movies in the Parks season ends soon, so don’t wait until next summer. (Nicole Bond)
Jeff Fort and Fred Hampton: A Revolutionary Love Story
Congregational Church of Jefferson Park, 5320 W. Giddings St. Through Sunday, September 10. Various dates and times. $10. (847) 859-9760. chicagofringe.org
Although not on the South Side, this is worth the trek to Jefferson Park’s Fringe Festival. Playwright Steven Long’s theatrical roots go far back to his days at UofC Lab School. His play comes from conversations with a family friend, who just happened to be the parole officer to Blackstone Rangers founder Jeff Fort. From these conversations, combined with months of research, Long tells the story of how the lives of Fort and Chicago Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton overlapped and how they contemplated merging their two organizations. (Nicole Bond)
Comedy Butcher
Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Monday, September 11, 8pm–10:30pm. $10. (773) 837-0145. coprosperity.org
So maybe you can’t make comedy shows on the weekend, or The Revival wasn’t enough for you. In that case, head on over to the Co-Pro on Monday (or every second Monday of the month) for what claims to be “the South Side’s best stand-up show.” (Julia Aizuss)