Women Who Dared

Chicago NOW is hosting its seventh annual cocktail reception and silent auction at high risk gallery tonight beginning at 6 pm. Not only will you be able to bid on scuba diving lessons, a catered private party at high risk gallery, a private sunset sailboat cruise on Lake Michigan, and a messenger bag from Poise.cc but you'll be able to sip cocktails and eat snazzy appetizers while milling with some city, state, and possibly national politicos. (Carol Mosley Braun attended last year, as have many aldermen, senators, reps, etc.) $65 is a small price to pay for all of this as well as see two women get recognized by Chicago NOW for their work. Hedy Ratner, co-Founder and co-President of Women's Business Development Center, the largest and oldest women's business assistance center in the counrty, will receive the Bella Abzug Woman of Honor award. Deborah Mell, daughter of 33rd ward alderman Dick Mell and sister-in-law to Governor Blagojevich, will receive the Activist of the Year award for her work to legalize gay marriage.

Third Coast Festival ShortDocs: "Darkness"

Tonight you can hear the 2004 Third Coast Festival ShortDoc - four newly commissioned audio works on a single theme: DARKNESS, including: a reflection on post-mortem photography through the lens of one family, by independent producer Jude Fletcher, Producer Adam Burke's visit to a completely dark (pitch black!) restaurant in Switzerland staffed entirely by blind/visually impaired employees, a collaboration between author Rick Moody and electronic musician Jerome Schmidt, about the nature of blackness, a sound tapestry presenting the mysteriously non-human sounds made by newborns, in the night, by the BBC's Hugh Levinson. Join Gwen Macsai, acclaimed writer and host of the Third Coast Festival/Chicago Public Radio's new program "Re:sound" and Third Coast Festival director Johanna Zorn, for an evening of listening and discussion about the 2004 Third Coast Festival ShortDocs. Tonight from 7 - 8:30 p.m., at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue (Orrington and Church), Evanston, Illinois. Admission to this event is free! Questions? email info@thirdcoastfestival.org or call 312.948.4682.

NYC's Soulive @ the Double Door

The NYC collective known as Soulive comes to the Windy City for a show at the Double Door (finally moving away from the HOB for a gig!) on Thursday, September 30th. Soulive is a funky organ trio covering a lot of ground stylistically, from jazz to hip-hop; they blend "a seamless funky concoction of '60s jazz-organ grooves, '70s funk, '90s acid-jazz, and fresh hip-hop that defies classification." Get your tickets at the box office, or try Ticketmaster.

Going Forward in Reverse @ Sonotheque

Local promotional outfits Interrupt Media, Covalent, and Subsystence team up to present Going Forward in Reverse, a new electronic music series at Chicago's acclaimed Sonotheque. This installment features a DJ set from Columbus-based producer Titonton Duvante, the music of Matty from Untitled, as well as performances by Coleman Burditt and GB contributor Ken Meier. Doors at 9 pm, Tickets $6, $2 PBR. 21 and up. Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago Ave. 312-226-7600.

Navigate the Debates @ Historical Society

The presidential election is fast approaching, and the Chicago Historical Society encourages Chicagoans to get involved. President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry will debate issues of concern in a series of televised debates, all of which will be shown live at CHS. The first debate will take place tonight at 8 p.m. The CHS event will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception and a discussion by local journalists and scholars. Co-sponsored by CHS and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. Tickets are $5.00 at the door (no advanced tickets) and students are free with ID. Speakers include Don Wycliff, public editor, Chicago Tribune and Alan Gitelson, professor, Loyola University. The moderator will be Mark Jacob, editor, Chicago Tribune. This event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight. The Chicago Historical Society is located on Clark Street at North Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Call them at 312.642.4600 for more information.