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.
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TODAY
Thursday, May 16
Slowdown
BY DAY
Monday, September 02 2013
African Festival of the Arts
The 24th annual African Festival of the Arts runs Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in Washington Park, 51st and Cottage Grove, from 10am to 10pm each day. Browse a marketplace with more than 300 artists and vendors; sample food from local restaurants; visit pavilions organized around topics such as books, spirituality and cyberspace; and enjoy music on two stages -- Brandy is the headliner tonight. Admission is $20 per day at the gate, or $30 for a weekend festival pass. Children under 12 and seniors over 65 are $5. Family passes are $30 per day, and include admission for two adults and up to four children.
Chicago Fringe Festival
The Chicago Fringe Festival runs Aug. 29-Sept. 8 at several venues in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. More than two dozen performances of theater, sketch comedy, spoken word and other experimental works stage today, beginning at 2:30pm; see the schedule for details. Admission buttons are $5 (they're required to get into any show); tickets are $10 per show. You can also buy five- and 10-ticket packs for $45 or $80, respectively, or go to everything for $180.
Thin Hymns, Chandeliers, Roommate @ Empty Bottle
Continuing their local music-friendly series of free Monday shows, the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., hosts locals Thin Hymns and Chandeliers for a night of avant-pop tunes worth their weight in sonic silver. Led by Michael Hilger, the Hymns flesh out their live sound with "clattering percussion, ethereal strings, and twinkling keyboards." And Chandeliers, if you haven't heard 'em by now, are essentially the bridge between Italo disco and early Kraftwerk, and as such should not be missed. Roommate and Norwegian Arms open. Show starts at 9pm, 21+.
