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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Thursday, April 18
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 11am to 5pm today. Admission are $50 for today; tickets for autographs, photo ops and VIP experiences are extra. Four-day passes are sold out.
The second annual Chicago Food Truck Social rolls into the parking lot at Kendall College, 900 N. Branch St., Saturday and today 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.
The 29th annual Bucktown Arts Festival runs Saturday and today, 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.
Logan Square's Boulevard Festival runs Aug. 22-24 in the square at Logan and Milwaukee avenues. The festival runs from noon to 10pm today, with music on two stages culminating in performances by Rubblebucket and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. $5 suggested donation.
The Sportsman's Club (948 N. Western Ave.) serves up BBQ (courtesy of chefs from Nightwood) today at 4pm at their Monkey Business Backyard BBQ; your $20 ticket gets you food and drinks (well, a beer and a shot).
One of the most anticipated pop music tours of 2014 comes to the Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St., tonight with Robyn and Röyksopp. The Swedish singer and the Norwegian duo have collaborated many times in the past ("The Girl and the Robot", "None of Dem", Do It Again), but this is a rare opportunity to see them perform live together. Pavilion seats are $59.50 and general admission in the lawn is $25 sold out. Either way, take your dancing shoes. Doors open at 5pm.
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.