Taste of the Nation @ Aragon

Chefs from all over the city (among them Purple Pig, Blackbird, Province, Urban Belly) will be in top form at tonight's Taste of the Nation event at the Aragon Ballroom. A benefit for Share Our Strength, 100% of tickets go to local anti-hunger charities. Tickets start at $95; event begins at 7pm.

Story Club @ Uncommon Ground on Clark

Story Club, a monthly open mic storytelling series, combines the spontaneity of an open mic with featured readings at Uncommon Ground (3800 N. Clark). Tonight's featured readers are Alyson Lyon and Keith Ecker of Essay Fiesta. Open mic sign-up at 8pm, go time at 8:30. This event is free. For more information visit Uncommon Ground or Story Club.

Fifth House Ensemble Performs Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" @ Adler Planetarium

Chicago's Fifth House Ensemble presents Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in Adler Planetarium's Sky Theatre. The ensemble will perform the chamber music epic under a visual display of the universe. The piece is scored for cello, clarinet, piano and violin, an unusual combination based on resources available to prisoners of war where Messiaen first composed and performed it. The show begins at 7pm. Tickets are $15 for Adler members and $20 for the public. For more information, visit the Adler online.

Fillet of Solo Festival @ The Artistic Home

Lifeline Theater (6912 N. Glenwood) and Live Bait Theater (3914 N. Clark Street) change venues with week 3 of the Fillet of Solo Festival, moving south to The Artistic Home (3914 N. Clark). At 7pm Julie Ganey performs The Half-Life of Magic and Matt Miller performs Sea World. At 8:30pm, Rett Lowell performs The Second Boat, Anthony Zoccoli performs Wiggerlover [whiteboy + blackdad = grey areas], and Deb R. Lewis performs Darkness, then Light. Performances are $10 each, and runn Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. for more information call (773) 761-4477 or visit Lifeline Theater.

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein @ Film Center

The Gene Siskel Film Center continues its Quentin Tarantino retrospective with one of the films that Tarantino cites as an influence: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein from 1948. Also appearing alongside Frankenstein's monster: Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney, Jr.)! The film screens this evening at 6:15pm; see the Film Center Website for a complete schedule and to purchase tickets. Film Center: 164 N. State. (312) 846-2600.

Bird Sanctuary @ Nomadic Studio, DePaul University Art Museum

DePaul's University Nomadic Studio is transforming itself into what it calls the "Bird Sanctuary," for a month-long exhibition of various Avian-focused works by the likes of artists such as Jay Ryan, Christopher Roberts, Susan Hall, Rob Funderburk, and Dayton Castleman. The space will also resurrect defunct loft space A/V Aerie through its music programming later on in the month. It all begins tomorrow with an opening reception event featuring a screen printing booth by Jay Ryan and music by locals Zikr. 5-8pm. DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N Kenmore Ave, Chicago.

Future of Girls, Gaming & Gender @ Columbia College

The 3G Public Forum will feature presentations by, and a lively conversation with, five leading women gaming scholars and design artists discussing such topics as the gender gap in the gaming industry, the growing ubiquity of gaming and its role in education and culture, and the potential for gaming as a tool for civic engagement and social change.

6pm-8pm
Media Production Center Soundstage, 1600 S. State
Admission is free.
For more information, visit www.colum.edu/3gsummit.

Presented by Interactive Arts and Media Department and the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in Arts and Media at Columbia College, the event features Mary Flanagan (artist and scholar, author of "Critical Play"); Tracy Fullerton (game designer, educator and writer; "Cloud;" "flOW;" "The Night Journey"); Jennifer Jenson (scholar of gender and technology, York University); Susana Ruiz (independent game designer ("Darfur is Dying" and "Finding Zoe"); Erin Robinson, Indie Game Designer ("Puzzle Bots" and "Nanobots")