Gapers Block has ceased publication.
Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
TODAY
Friday, April 26
Slowdown
BY DAY
Wednesday, September 28 2005
"Street Beat" Fashion Show
Today, from 11:30am-1:30pm, head down to State St. for a free, live fashion show between Washington and Madison. Part of Fashion Focus Chicago, the models will wear designs from the International Academy of Design & Technology, the School of the Art Institute, Columbia College and the Illinois Institute of Art. It's the latest in local fashion design and you can catch all on your lunch break! Call 312-782-9160 for more information.
Win a Date with Joe & Mandy
Playground Theater member team, The Fling, presents an all new improv game show, Win a Date With Joe & Mandy, tonight. From The Fling: "Win a Date With Joe & Mandy is an Improvised Game Show where the audience can win a date with our lovely bachelorette, Mandy, or this guy, Joe. It is Love Connection meets Double Dare as audience members compete in a series of wacky challenges to win the affections of Joe or Mandy. The two audience-selected winners will be whisked away on all expenses paid dates with Joe & Mandy, complete with members of The Fling as chaperones. The dates will be filmed and clips will be shown to new audiences in subsequent weeks." Performances will be at 8pm at The Playground Theater, 3209 North Halsted, Chicago. Tickets are $10, call (773) 348-2209 for reservations.
Streetcar Katrina Benefit @ DOC Films
DOC Films is hosting a benefit presentation of Oscar-winning classic A Streetcar Named Desire tonight at 9:30pm at the Max Palevsky Theatre, 1212 E 59th Street. All proceeds are going to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief fund, and the University of Chicago will be matching all donations made tonight. For more information, call 773-702-8575 or visit the DOC Films website.
IKEA Bolingbrook Opens
They've polished the umlauts and meatballs, and now it's time to open the big doors at IKEA's newest Illinois store, at 750 E Boughton Road in Bolingbrook. If you just can't wait to browse the isles, you can take a virtual tour of the store online. But if you're die hard, and want some cold, hard cashola, be the first person in line when they open today (at either Illinois store) at 9am, and you'll win yourself $3,000. That's a lot of Poangs!
Bookslut Reading Series
The Bookslut Reading Series features four authors this month: Luis Alberto Urrea, Lisa Selin Davis, Ander Monson and Kirby Gann. The reading is held tonight at 7:30pm on the second floor of Hopleaf, 5148 N Clark St. It's free, but you must be 21 or older.
ThickDesign05 Lecture: Jurgen Bey
Part of the ThickDesign05 product design exhibit at at the Betty Rymer Gallery that runs through September 28th, the Art Institute hosts a special lecture by Jurgen Bey. Bey is a Dutch product designer, who is best known for his provocative work with the conceptual design collective Droog Design. The lecture is at 6:00 pm at the SAIC Auditorium, 280 S. Columbus Drive. Admission is free.
Know Your Noble Grapes
Noble Grape Pop Quiz:
1. Do you know what a noble grape is?
2. Can you identify which of these grapes is not a noble grape?
Syrah
Riesling
Cabernet Sauvignon
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
To find the answers to these questions and more, plan to attend In Fine Spirits' Education and Tasting Seminar: Noble Grapes, tonight at 7pm. Cost is $25 and can be applied towards featured wine purchases. Seats are limited, sign-up though email at shane{at}infinespirits.com. In Fine Spirits is located at 5418 N. Clark Street, (773) 506-9463
Cynthia Ozick @ the Newberry Library
Novelist Cynthia Ozick reads from her latest, Heir to the Glimmering World, which was recently released in paperback, tonight at 6 PM. 60 W. Walton. For more information, call the Newberry Library at 312–943–9090 or check the website.
Brazilian Jazz @ the Old Town School
If you saw Seu Jorge at his World Music Festival gig last week, or you were sorry to miss him, you probably have a yen for some Brazilian music around now. Thanks to the Old Town School of Folk Music’s 10th annual Autumn celebration of Latin sound, La Pena, you can hear some tonight, starting at 8:30 PM. This event is free, but the Old Town School requests a $5 donation. 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, call 773-728-6000 or visit the website.
Third Coast Festival Listening Room: Short Docs
Short Docs-Stories about Games, a presentation of the Third Coast International Audio Festival, is premiering at Steppenwolf’s Garage Theatre tonight at 7 PM. Listen to four short radio pieces about games—from tongue twisters to Go—and participate in the subsequent discussion, moderated by Gwen Macsai, who hosts the Third Coast Festival’s Re:sound program on Chicago Public Radio. The evening ends with a dessert reception. Tickets are $4 and $6, and can be reserved ahead or picked up a the door. 1650 N Halsted. For more information, visit the website.
