Film Screening: La Porte, IN @ Intuit

Tucked away in the back room of a B&J's American Cafe lies a secret history waiting to be discovered: 18,000 dog-eared studio portraits from the 1950s and 60s. From baby pictures to graduation shots to young soldiers heading off to war and beyond, each of these photos hints at a personal story waiting to be told. Come discover the documentary film La Porte, Indiana with a special introduction by Producer, Jason Bitner. Copies of the dvd and book will be available for purchase in the gift shop. 7pm. $5 / Free for Intuit Members. Intuit is located at 756 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Edie Fake Celebrates Release of Gaylord Phoenix @ Quimby's

Gaylord Phoenix follows the danger-fraught journeys of the Gaylord Phoenix, a creature willing to sacrifice anything for lost love and hidden memories. Make a plan to pick up your copy of Edie Fake's newly collected volume in person, at Quimby's, 1854 W. North Ave, tonight at 7pm, and Edie Fake might hand you a homemade penis-shaped cookie, a limited-edition mix tape, and objets-de-arte.

More info here.

7th Annual Liars Club Kid's Benefit

Liar's Club, 1665 W. Fullerton Ave., hosts its seventh annual Kid's Benefit for Katie's Kids tonight from 7pm to 10pm. Taking the stage will be punk-rock all-stars including Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), Johnny and Joey Haggerty (Pegboy), Scott Lucas (Local H), Mark Derosa (Dummy) and Herb Rosen (Beer Nuts), along with Hillbilly Idol, the Nefarious Fat Cats, and Angela Eve and Eve's Parlor burlesque. No cover, but bring a wrapped gift from Katie's Kids' wishlist, listed on the website. 21+

Chicago History Museum Holiday Pub Crawl

Join the Chicago History Museum for their "Deck the Pubs! Christmas Caroling" pub crawl along Armitage Avenue. Learn the history of the songs and pubs visited. Begins at 6:45pm, tickets are $25 or $20 for members. To purchase tickets or for more information, check out the Chicago History Museum website.

Artist Carrie Mae Weems @ Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago hosts artist Carrie Mae Weems for a discussion of her photography exhibit, The Kitchen Table Series, work that explores the "narrative of African-American family life played out around the central device of the kitchen table." Weems, acclaimed for her work that confronts race, gender, and class issues, will also lecture about her latest project. The program will be held tonight in the Rubloff Auditorium, 280 S. Columbus Drive, from 6pm-7pm; gallery viewing from 7pm-8pm. This event is free and open to the public; to RSVP and for more information, contact aicevents@artic.edu or (312) 443-3127.

Proximity 008 Release Party @ Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar

The Public Media Institute opens Select Media Festival 9: Infoporn II with the release of their own contribution to the information overload. Proximity magazine's Issue 008, themed Education as Art, is a 230 page opus and represents our latest and greatest effort in publishing. Stop by and get a copy at a discount ($10), enjoy some beverages and meet the creators. The upcoming issue of Proximity takes on this theme through a number of profiles, interviews, essays, and narratives. This issue includes meditations, conversations, and collaborations around "education as art" from a number of perspectives. The party is from 7 to 11 tonight at Marias: 3219 S Morgan St. 21+. No Cover.

The Dil Pickle Club @ Nightingale

No, it's not a club for pickled cucumber fans. In the 1900s, the Dil Pickle Club was a speakeasy/caberet/theatre that became the center of the "Chicago Renaissance." Formed by Wobbly Jack Jones, and located in Tooker Alley (now Tooker Place), off of Dearborn downtown, the Dil Pickle Club was frequented by many activists, writers, and speakers, such as Clarence Darrow, Elizabeth Davis, Upton Sinclair, and Carl Sandburg. These "Dil Pickle Artisans" convened to promote arts, crafts, science, and literature, and the club was a place for debates and sharing ideas, as well as a spot for plays, opera, poetry readings, and jazz. Once the Great Depression hit, the club began to decline and finally shut down in 1934.
Well, tonight the Dil Pickle Club is coming back! From 7 to 11pm at the Nightingale (1084 N. Milwaukee), join a discussion group rife with prominent speakers and be prepared to delve into controversial, off-beat, and intellectual topics. Tonight's club emphasis will be on FIGHT/FLIGHT which will include:

• How to Take a Punch by Bill Hillmann, with an interlude about Chicago Park District Boxers by Fred Sasaki and Jacob S. Knabb


• Flight Painting by Peggy Macnamara and notes on Nathan Leopold's Warblers by Paul Genesius Durica


• Rocket Launch by Nat Ward and Kenneth Morrison


• And much, much more!

The Dil Pickle Club Revival is free and open to the public, and beverages will be available for sale. (Because you can't have the revival of a controversial club without beverages!)

Holiday Wine and Beer Festival @ Whole Foods Market Lincoln Park

Check out the Holiday Wine and Beer Festival at Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park, 1550 N. Kingsbury, tonight from 4 to 8pm, where you can try over 300 wines, beers and spirits. For free. Everything poured at the event will be on sale for at least 10% off, and when you buy six or more bottles (mix or match, even) you'll get an additional 10% off. While you're there, be sure to snack on samples from the prepared foods and catering departments, and enter raffles for items like a PS3, a Serrano ham, large-format wine bottles, and autographed celebrity cookbooks. Win-win -- literally.