Grand Chefs Gala @ Fairmont Hotel

Tonight's benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at the Fairmont Hotel, (200 N Columbus) features food from many top shelf chefs (Girl and the Goat, BOKA, Piccolo Sogno), the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, and entertainment. Starts at 6pm, tickets begin at $60 for the afterparty ($400 for the meal).

Find a Place and Hold It for a While Opens @ Peanut Gallery

Find a Place and Hold It for a While is a cyclical performance of labor, documenting moments of various weaving processes, addressing how loss can create opportunities for transformation through the construction and deconstruction of a hand-woven cloth. The artist, Lauren La Rose, is a BFA candidate at SAIC. She has installed a giant loom in the gallery and will be working on the cloth during the opening tonight and for several weeks thereafter. A video of the performance as it has been done before will be projected on the wall in the gallery. The opening reception is from 7 to 10 tonight at Peanut Gallery: 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. Rm. 345. All ages and breeds are welcome.

BROADZILLA! The Burlesque Beast @ The Exit

Roar! BROADZILLA! The Burlesque Beast attacks The Exit (1315 W. North Avenue; 312-395-2700) tonight with two free shows at 10:30pm and 1am. Chicago's favorite burlesque troupe, Vaudezilla, brings the tease with a bevy of beauties including Donna Touch, Mia D. Vine, Jenny Sasi-Quoi, and Paris Green. The show is free and hosted by Cherry Brandi. For more information and a complete list of performers, visit Vaudezilla's website.

Write Club @ Hideout

The Hideout plays host to this month's bout of Write Club, a 3-round literary beatdown featuring some of Chicago's best literary & theatrical talent. Your host, as always, is the sparkling Ian Belknap. Write Club starts at 7pm, and admission is a suggested $8 donation (proceeds go to charities selected by the combatants). Hideout: 1354 W. Wabansia. (773) 227-4433.

Repulsion @ Film Center

The Gene Siskel Film Center kicks off a series of phychological horror films with a screening tonight of Roman Polanski's Repulsion, starring Catherine Deneuve as a woman slowly going mad in a London apartment. Repulsion screens tonight at 6pm, and again on Tuesday, February 1 at 6pm. See the Film Center Website for full details and a complete schedule of the series. Film Center: 164 N. State. (312) 846-2600.

B-Fest 2011

B-Fest, the annual B-movie film festival put on by Northwestern University, kicks off this evening at 6pm with the first of many films that will be show for the next 24 hours without interruption (only pausing for a meal break tomorrow around lunch time). For details on B-Fest happenings see this writeup on Gapers Block. B-Fest happens on Northwestern's campus in Evanston, IL. Tickets may still be available; see the B-Fest Website for full details.

?uestlove DJ set @ Smartbar

The Roots frontman ?uestlove gets behind the turntables tonight at Smartbar, 3730 N. Clark St. DJs Major Taylor and Intel open. Doors open at 10pm. Tickets are $20. 21+

Contraphonic's 3rd Annual Winter of Love @ Roxaboxen

Local label Contraphonic fetes winter yet again in the latest installment of their Winter of Love party. This year they've teamed up with Pilsen gallery Roxaboxen Exhibitions to stage a decidedly more rock-focused show than previous events.

Wishgift, Magic Gloves, and Contraphonic DJs get the party people dancing. 8pm, 2130 W. 21st St. Donations Welcome.

California Wives @ Subterranean

California Wives are poised for a big 2011. The local indie-rockers have a forthcoming full-length release, much-hyped shows and earlier this month they were out at Daytrotter. Not a bad start to the year. California Wives headline Subterranean. Santah and Art Majors open at 9:30 PM. The show's 21+ and $10. Subterranean's at 2011 North Ave.