Midwest Bookhunters Book Fair

The Midwest Bookhunters are having their spring book fair this weekend at the Joseph J. Gentile Center on the campus of Loyola University at 6565 N. Sheridan Road. The Gentile Center gym will be packed with vendors selling used, rare and antiquarian books along with maps, ephemera, prints and more. The book fair is open 4pm to 8pm on Saturday, May 22 and 10am to 4pm on May 23. Admission is $6 but $4 if you can scrounge up a student I.D. For more information call 773-989-2200 or check out their website.

Lincoln Park Farmer's Market

Beginning today, and running every Saturday until October 30, the Lincoln Park Farmer's Market meets in the parking lot of Lincoln Park High School, at Armitage and Orchard (2000 N -- 700 W) in Chicago. Most neighborhoods have their own weekly markets, but this one opens up a few weeks before the others, so get on down, and pick up some Midwest produce.

Bob Dylan birthday show

Monday, May 24, is Bob Dylan's 63rd birthday. Students and staff from the Old Town School of Folk Music will celebrate with a show Saturday at The Hideout, 4-8 p.m. (Unfortunately, Weather.com is expecting rain, and it might be a hard rain.)

Gross Park sculpture invitational

Today's the opening reception for the annual Gross Park Sculpture Invitational, which prsents sculptures from a couple dozen artists on a specific theme. This year's theme: "Rejectamenta." Local artists found or bartered for art supplies to create their works. Along with the sculpture, there will be a sale of limited edition art & poetry books happening, the sale of which benefits the Gross Park Neighbors Foundation. The reception begins at 3:00, and the show runs through July 18. Gross Park: 1700 W. Henderson, one block south of the Lincoln, Roscoe & Paulina intersection. For more information, contact the Gross Park Neighbors Foundation: 773/248-1762.

Help the Hypocrites @ the Hungry Brain

Come out and help support local theater by...drinking! Tonight from 9 p.m.- midnight, you can drink all the beer and wine you like for $10 at The Hungry Brain, and help out local theater group The Hippocrites who've lost half their state funding this year. This bunch brought you the Jeff Recommended "Balm in Gilead" and "Camille/La Traviata" this year, the least you can do is go drink with them! The Hungry Brain is located at 2319 W. Belmont Ave. 

Queer Is Folk Festival

The 4th annual Queer is Folk festival, conceived and hosted by Chicago musician Scott Free, is a celebration of the LGBT experience through folk music. This year features performances by Melissa Ferrick, Blackberri, Ernest David Lijoi, Wishing Chair, and Andrea Bunch, with spoken word by Lisa Hemminger, Christopher Piatt, and Samaiya Ewing. At the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. 7:00pm. $20 in advance, $22 at the door. A portion of the proceeds goes to BEHIV. Call 773-728-6000, or order tickets through TicketWeb.

James T. Farrell Symposium and Bus Tour

Today is the second and final day the Newberry Library will celebrate the life and work of great American writer James T. Farrell with a free series of hour-long programs and a $20 bus tour of his native Chicago. This symposium, which marks the centennial of the author's birth, is presented in collaboration with Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and the James T. Farrell Centenary Committee, a group of Illinois authors and educators who are petitioning the city to honor the author in this anniversary year. For more information about the James T. Farrell Symposium and Bus Tour, call (312) 255-3700.The Newberry Library is located at 60 W. Walton Street.

Neo-Futurist auditions

If you're a male theater actor living in Chicago, and you're looking for a theater company with which to align yourself, consider The Neo-Futurists, who are having auditions for their long-running show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind today and tomorrow. Be forewarned that this is a long-term gig, and your weekends will pretty much be filled with this commitment (TML runs late nights on Fridays and Saturdays, and in the evenings on Sundays). But hey, you'd be a Neo-Futurist. How cool is that? More info and audition scheduling: (773) 275-5255 x3 or e-mail auditions@neofuturists.org.