West Fest & East Village Arts Walk

West Town, aka East Village, is holding its first-ever street festival, probably the last of the season. It features your typical range of vendors, plus a surprisingly good music line-up (see below). Saturday and Sunday, noon to 10pm on Chicago Avenue between Damen and Wood. $5 donation gets you in.

Simultaneously, the East Village Arts Walk features more than 50 artists' studios and galleries. Maps will be available at West Fest entry points; the Arts Walk is free. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 7pm.

More info on both events here.

Saturday, October 9th 2004
12-1pm: Loose Assembly
1:30-2:30pm: Jose Valdez Trio
3-4:30pm: Chi Town Reggae with Special Guest DJ Red Lox
5-6pm: Chocolate Covered Karma
6:30-8pm: Waco Brothers
8:30-10pm: Urge Overkill

Sunday, October 10th 2004 12-1pm: Indoor/Outdoor
1:30-2:30pm: Good Times
3-4:30pm: Emerging Light with Special Guest DJ Red Lox
5-6pm: Million Yen
6:30-8pm: Califone 8:30-10pm: Local H (Rock)

Burn This @ New World Rep

New World Repertory Theater presents “Burn This” by Lanford Wilson at The Masonic Temple 1st floor theater, 923 Curtiss Street in Downers Grove, IL.

“Burn This” opens on Saturday October 9, 2004, at 7:30 PM, and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 3 PM until November 20, 2004.  Preview performance is on 10/8 at 7:30 PM.  Regular tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors, and $12 each for groups of ten or more. Preview tickets are $12.  For tickets, directions, information and group rates, call 630.663.1489.

The Lord of the Rings Symphony

Tonight at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, film composer Howard Shore presents an evening of music from the three Lord of the Rings movies. The evening will also include performances by Chicago's very own Chicago Children's Choir, who will be singing songs in Elvish. Wow! The program begins at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $35-80; check the Auditorium Theatre Website for ticket options. Auditorium Theatre: 50 E. Congress Parkway. (312) 922-2110.

Madison Zine Fest

Not really in Chicago, but close enough that people could go for a day, or a weekend. Madison Zine Fest will be taking place this weekend as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival. Join zinesters and hipsters and music-makers at Open Book Cafe and other locations in Madison. Continues through Sunday.

Rhino Theater Fest: Hit Me Like a Flower

A new play by Beau O'Reilly for the Rhinoceros Theater Fest. "Hit Me Like a Flower continues O'Reilly's “Big Play” experiment: large casts, lots of story line, expanse. Sarah Wallace has come to an East-Coast waspish town to start her therapy practice and cast a watchful eye over her long-estranged college daughter Terry, known to her friends as “Oddhead.” Sarah’s patients: Arthur Moore, a psychopath with a bear suit and a 2 by 4; William Coughlin, a sometime novelist of minor fame who is recovering from a stroke; and Mrs. Chester, a woman who has been living on the streets but now is ready for a bus ride. Terry’s friends are Saul and Hannah, and they are in their 20’s, skating tough, and worried about the war." 7pm, Curious Theatre Branch, 7001 N Glenwood. $12 or pay what you can. Call 773-274-6660 for reservations.

Rhino Theater Fest: The Authentics

A new play by Paula Gilovich, as part of the Rhinoceros Theater Fest. "At the center of The Authentics is a plane crash from which only awkward, perverse David Wise has been pulled. The crash brings him Sarah Sharp, the reporter who covers his disaster, and a lost father looking for money. With the father comes a charismatic sidekick, and with Sarah comes a successful mother in the business of everyone's business. A wry look at the inherently absurd forces that create what's real, strange, funny, unromantic, fast, and furious is the universe of The Authentics. Sex, gender, death, disappointment, dismemberment, semi-celebrity, Chinese food, editors, and bus stations: this is life authentic." 9pm, Curious Theatre Branch, 7001 N Glenwood. $12 or pay what you can. Call 773-274-6660 for reservations.

Hypocrites Party/Fundraiser Thing

Tonight, Chicago theater ensemble The Hypocrites will host a party in your honor to celebrate their 8th season. They invite you and your friends to come celebrate with them amidst a live DJ, stocked bar and buffet table and silent auction table. Tickets to this event are $40 and can be purchased over the web or from any of the Hypocrites company members. It's a small price to pay for a long night of fun and entertainment, and they hope you can join them. More information can be found online. The booty-shaking gets going at 2046 W. Carroll from 8:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Electronics and Household Hazardous Waste Collection

Household hazardous waste and electronics recycling collection will be conducted this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at two Chicago locations: DeVry Chicago, 3300 N. Campbell and the Westside Technical Institute, 2800 S. Western. You've got household hazardous waste to dispose of if you're ready to throw out any of the following: oil-based paint, drain cleaners, solvents, wood strippers, insecticides, cleaning products, fluorescent light bulbs, weed killers, aerosols, used motor oil, photo chemicals, gasoline, antifreeze, propane and natural gas tanks, car batteries, household batteries. Also being collected are used eyeglasses and mercury thermometers. Also, you can recycle unwanted electronics such as old televisions and computer monitors. Drop off any unused or obsolete electronic equipment for recycling such as cell phones, stereos, PDAs, video games, pagers, etc. No large home appliances. Only residential waste will be accepted. Call 312-742-4805 or 311 for details or send e-mail toenvironment@cityofchicago.org. Recycling is FREE!

Illinois Arts Week

This year, October 3–9 is Illinois Arts Week. Check out the vast Arts Week brochure (PDF) for a full schedule of events all around the state. Events in Chicago include a walking tour of Roger’s Park galleries, an experimental Chinese photography and film exhibit at the University of Chicago Film Studies Center and the MCA, and a performance of "A View from the Bridge" at the American Theater Company. Check the Illinois Arts Council website for more information about other Arts Week programs.

UNIVERSES: Slanguage @ MCA

A fierce fusion of poetry, politics, blues, and boleros combine in "Slanguage," an original performance by poetry ensemble UNIVERSES presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, in association with the Guild Complex, on October 8, 9, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. Hailing from the South Bronx, UNIVERSES is an ensemble-based company of multi-disciplined writers and performers, weaving their own lives and language into a collage of stories, songs, scenes, and poetry. For more information please visit the MCA website.

Rosehill Cemetery Walking Tour

Discover the secrets behind the headstones on a walking tour of Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery that focuses the many former Evanston residents buried there. On Saturday, Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m. (rain or shine), Evanston Historical Society Educator Leslie Goddard will lead a walking tour that visits the final resting spots of Evanstonians buried at Rosehill Cemetery. Tours leave from the east gate of the cemetery at 5800 N. Ravenwood Ave., Chicago. Rosehill Cemetery is not only Chicago’s oldest and largest non-sectarian cemetery, it is also the final resting place of many Evanstonians. The tour will pass by the graves of such local celebrities as former U.S. vice president Charles Gates Dawes, temperance crusader Frances Willard, preacher and educator John Dempster, and Civil War General Julius White. It will also visit the graves of lesser-known Evanstonians such as some victims from the 1903 Iroquois Theater disaster. The tour will also discuss common cemetery symbolism found at Rosehill and the evolution of cemetery customs over the decades. Tickets for the walking tour are $7 per person or $5 for EHS members. Reservations highly recommended. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. For reservations or more information, call 847-475-3410 or visit the Evanston Historical Society.

Chicago Botanic Garden Bulb Bazaar

This weekend, the Chicago Botanic Garden hosts it's annual Bulb Bazaar. The largest bulb sale in the Midwest, the Bulb Bazaar offers more than 300,000 bulbs of 250 varieties—everything from tulips to irises, alliums to daffodils. Members-only hours are 1 to 7 p.m. on October 8. The sale is also open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 9, 10 and 11. The sale will be held in the Education Center at the Botanic Garden. For more information, contact the garden or download the catalogue (PDF).

Lyric Opera Warehouse Sale

The Lyric Opera's warehouse at 2559 S. Dearborn is being sold for redevelopment, so this weekend the doors are being thrown open for a huge sale. Trunks for $50, costumes starting at $5 -- and all sorts of props, from swords to a giant Edgar Allen Poe face. It's free, and runs Saturday and Sunday from 1-4pm. More info in this Tribune article.

Words of Choice

WORDS OF CHOICE, dynamic pro-choice theater created by Cindy Cooper is performed by an ensemble of actors, who weave together the words of many writers including Gloria Feldt, Cindy Cooper, Kathy Najimy and The Onion. The group, on their Go Vote Tour, will perform in Chicago tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Las Manos Gallery located at 5220 N. Clark (in Andersonville). Tickets $15 (general admission), $25 (friend of Chicago NOW), and $50 (supporter of Chicago NOW). Learn more here or call the theater at (773) 728-8910.

I Want a President Who @ Mess Hall

As a part of a series of public artworks inviting people to share their thoughts regarding leadership and creating art in the process, the public art collaborative Anti Gravity Surprise has organized events every Saturday in October in Chicago. The second is today from 1 to 4 p.m. at Mess Hall located at 6932 N. Glenwood Avenue in Rogers Park. The afternoon will feature election-inspired artworks, street performances, and an open discussion. At 3 p.m there will be a presentation by Elvira Arellano, an immigrant-rights activist. For more information, email AGS@anti-gravity.info.