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
Thursday, April 25
Slowdown
BY DAY
Saturday, August 23 2014
Chicago Comic Con
Wizard World's Chicago Comic Con returns to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd. in Rosemont, Aug. 21-24. Meet artists and celebrities; attend panels on your favorite pop culture, TV and film; watch movies; marvel at the cosplayers and check out the comics. The festival is open from 10am to 8pm today. Admission are $60 for today; tickets for autographs, photo ops and VIP experiences are extra. Four-day passes are sold out.
Food Truck Social @ Kendall College
The second annual Chicago Food Truck Social rolls into the parking lot at Kendall College, 900 N. Branch St., today and Sunday from 11am to 10pm. Enjoy food from a dozen or so food truck as well as some area restaurants, live music curated by Empty Bottle Presents and more. Admission is $5, with proceeds benefiting Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters program.
Bucktown Arts Festival
The 29th annual Bucktown Arts Festival runs today and Sunday, 11am to 7pm, in Senior Citizens Memorial Park, 2300 N. Oakley Ave. Browse and buy art and crafts from nearly 200 artists; enjoy music on two stages, theater and dance on another; plus children's poetry and kids activities all weekend long. This year there's also a solid-looking line of craft beer on tap. Admission is free, donations gladly accepted.
The Boulevard Festival
Logan Square's Boulevard Festival runs Aug. 22-24 in the square at Logan and Milwaukee avenues. The festival runs from noon to 10pm tonight, with music on two stages culminating in performances by the Dean Ween Group and Digital Tape Machine. $5 suggested donation.
Bridgepork @ Maria's
Maria's Community Bar, 960 W. 31st St., celebrates the fourth anniversary of its revamping with Bridgepork, a two-day party with beer, barbecue and music Friday and today. From 4 to 9pm, the bar's parking lot transforms into a festival with local bands, food from chef Kevin Hickey and Maria's, and beer from Marz Brewing. At 9, the party moves inside for a Latin American dance party featuring the Sonorama DJs. No cover, 21+
A Jangleheart Circus
A Jangleheart Circus (mostly) improv comedy festival runs Aug. 21-23 in the Upstairs Gallery of The Den Theater, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. Shows run on four stages tonight from 6pm to well after midnight. Doors open at 5pm. Tickets are $25 per night, or $60 for a three-day pass.
Drivin' and Cryin' @ Reggies
Drivin' and Cryin' headline at Reggies, 2105 S. State St., tonight, with Blue Dream; My God, The Heat; and Robert Rolfe Feddersen opening. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors open at 7:30pm. 17+
Chicago Dancing Festival
The eighth annual Chicago Dancing Festival runs Aug. 20-23 at the Harris Theater, Pritzker Pavilion and Museum of Contemporary Art. Tonight's performance is at the Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St., at 7:30pm and features After School Matters, the Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Mack and Maki Onuki of the Washington Ballet Brooklyn. Free.
Deer Tick @ Metro
Deer Tick headlines the Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., tonight, with the Weeks opening. Tickets are $19 in advance, $21 at the door. Doors open at 8pm, show's at 9pm. 18+
Aloft Circus Arts Presents Dinner of Our Discontent @ Chopin Theatre
Circus and theater converge with Aloft's production, Dinner of Our Discontent at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street. Directed and conceptualized by Aloft artistic director Shayna Swanson, "Dinner" follows five estranged sisters as they return to the home they grew up in after their parents' sudden deaths. Aloft is a Chicago-based physical performance company dedicated to telling original stories through world-class circus arts. Show runs August 14-24, show times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm. Tickets are $25 and available at Brown Paper Tickets. For more information visit Aloft Circus Arts or Chopin Theatre.
Queerpocalypse @ Mayne Stage
Ties & Tassles presents Queerpocalypse tonight at Mayne Stage, 1330 W. Morse Ave. See drag, ca mp, burlesque, circus, song and dance performances by an international cast. Tickets are $23. Doors are at 9pm, show's at 10pm. 18+
Ken Vandermark's Audio One @ Constellation
Ken Vandermark's Audio One performs tonight at Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave., at 9:30pm. Tickets are $20. 18+
