Your #StaytheFHome Chicago Curated Weekend: 8/6 and Beyond

Chicago has been opening up more and more, but that doesn't mean you should take it lightly. If you're going out to support business during these Covid heavy times, please wear a mask and social distance as best you can. Eventually we'd love to have the curated weekend be back to recommending fun in-person events, but we can only do that by staying home or being extra safe when we go out. While outdoor events will continue to take a back seat in the #staythefhome version of the Curated Weekend, we'll still recommend a few events here and there that look safe to attend. Even so, check them out for yourselves and don't go out if you don't feel comfortable yet, there's still plenty to do at home thanks to all the great streaming services. And if you're opting to stay home, then let's find something fun to do! Whether you're doing your part in fighting against police brutality, working out, finally watching Hamilton, trying out some new recipes, or whatever catches your fancy; you may still have a few hours in your day that need filling up. There are tons of fun ideas highlighted in this week's curated weekend including some from previous #StaytheFHome editions where the editors here at Third Coast Review suggested a few things you can enjoy while you're at home during these social distancing, self-quarantining days! Since we're all still in this together, we encourage you to check out Do312's running list of venues that could use some love! Donate if you can and remember to support them by going to shows once it's safe to do so! Stay home and stay safe and healthy. Listen to our healthcare policy experts. Science matters. Wear a mask. Keep washing your hands. And check in on 3CR, where we promote the arts for everyone's sake. Let's stay the fuck inside and enjoy your curated weekend!

THURSDAY AUGUST 6th

Staged - Live Concerts from Home @ Audiotree, the spot where you've been watching all the best streaming shows these past few months, 9:00pm WHAT: Live music from Lincoln Hall and Audiotree to make staying at home a little better SO WHAT: The past few weeks, Audiotree has been putting up amazing live shows on the Lincoln Hall stage, with all the lights and stage presence you remember, for the stay-at-home audience. The shows have been excellent, offering something a little different than typical streaming shows and giving you a nice taste of live music. Check out their August lineup below and get ready for a fantastic concert streaming experience. NOW WHAT: Tickets are $11 for these great shows and are only available a short time after airing

FRIDAY AUGUST 7th

A Shot: #A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter @ Your virtual streaming room, 7:00pm WHAT: American Blues Theater presents a live reading via Zoom. The 35-minute reading will be followed by a discussion about the story and actions you can take. SO WHAT: Here's a summary of the story: When Mrs. Nettie Morris (Wandachristine) goes to the storefront campaign office of congressional hopeful Jeffrey Talbott (Ian Paul Custer) determined to save her grandson from Chicago’s violent streets and incarceration with an ingenious plan, a very personal life and death struggle takes a surprising turn. The story by Gloria Bond Clunie is directed by Chuck Smith. Cara Parrish is stage manager. For more information, read the Backstage Guide. NOW WHAT:  Reservations are required. Tickets are pay what you can and a $10 donation is suggested. You'll be sent the Zoom link in a “Plan Your Visit” email on the evening Dancing in the Streets @ Home, someplace nice and chill in your place, 7:00pm WHAT: A celebration of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, jam bands, and beer! SO WHAT: While the celebration may not be going on live in person, Dancing in the Streets will still be bringing their fun experience to your home digitally. You can pick up a special pack of beer and enjoy a performance from three fun bands! Check out the lineup below! NOW WHAT: Enjoy the nice tunes on Friday and pick up the Dancing in the Streets beer pack beforehand to make the night all the better. The Dancing in the Streets beer pack will feature brews from the Chicago Brewing District including On Tour Brewing Company, Goose Island, Great Central Brewing Company, Forbidden Root and Finch, as well as special swag from Midwest Brewing Company. All proceeds from the mix pack purchases will benefit the West Town Chamber of Commerce. Helen Money @ Constellation's YouTube, a nice chill spot at home, 8:30pm WHAT: Excellent tunes for your weekend SO WHAT: Helen Money is the musical pseudonym of Chicago-based Alison Chesley. Her adventurous sound, bold compositions, and compelling stage performance need to be seen live and this is another great opportunity after her Empty Bottle stream a few weeks ago! Helen Money's new album, Atomic, pushes her incredible sound forward and this show is set to be amazing. NOW WHAT: There are 50 tickets available for the socially distanced performance, but you can still support and watch the stream from home! In person tickets are $15 and they are accepting donations from those watching the stream here. Support this great artist and enjoy the show! Ravinia TV @ Ravinia's YouTube Channel, On the best sounding device that can play YouTube channel, Fridays 7:00pm WHAT: Some excellent performances to hold you over during this time of no live concerts SO WHAT: RaviniaTV is a 20-minute weekly variety show webcast on their YouTube channel and Facebook page every Friday. It's a perfect addition to your Friday night and a nice taste of Ravinia's programming during these times! NOW WHAT: Head over to their website and tune in to the show. You can also check out previous episodes of the show! Grant Park Music Festival 2020 Virtual Season: Festival Remixed @ YouTube and WFMT, at home with your favorite streaming device, Fridays and Wednesday 6:30pm WHAT: Live music for your free time SO WHAT: This year the Grant Park Music Festival is going virtual with plenty of great concerts and events being livestreamed online on YouTube and WFMT (both on their website and FM). You can check out our preview of the season here. This Friday will feature Visiting Masters: Christian Tetzlaff on Youtube and then Wednesday will feature the Mahler Resurrection Symphony on WFMT! NOW WHAT: Head over to the Festival Remixed website for the full schedule and enjoy!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8st

  FitzGerald's Online Concerts and Stay-at-Home Truck Concerts @ Their Facebook Page, truck concerts on Saturdays 3pm or any time after on VOD, All Ages WHAT: Musicians performing at home or in the back of a pickup truck and live-streaming it for all! SO WHAT: Fitzgerald's will continue bringing live music to their Berwyn neighborhood and beyond through their Stay at Home Concert Series and regular live-streaming shows on their Facebook page. For the Stay at Home Concerts artists will be playing live from the back of a pickup truck somewhere in Berwyn, encouraging folks to stay home and watch from their porch or through the Facebook livestream. This weekend will feature a Community Trunk Concert with Wyatt Waddell! Check out his incredible single "FIGHT" here! NOW WHAT: Stay home and enjoy the show on Facebook! If you live on the lucky block where the performance is held, watch from your property and maintain quarantine! Fitzgerald's has also opened their doors and will have live music on their patio. WHAT: A chance to check out some interesting productions from Manual Cinema's history! SO WHAT: Manual Cinema’s 10th Anniversary Retrospectacular! is a month-long virtual birthday party featuring four of the company’s most seminal shows from the past 10 years streaming for free! In addition to the features each week, Manual Cinema will host live, online, virtual talkbacks reuniting each production’s creators, collaborators and fans. Check out the Talk ,Back lineup below! And see our detailed preview on the Stages page.
  • Saturday, August 8, The End of TV
  • Saturday, August 15, No Blue Memories
  • Friday, August 21, Frankenstein
NOW WHAT: Shows will be available here and change out every Monday, so don't miss out on this great opportunity! Manual Cinema will also be accepting donations to compensate for lost touring income due to Covid-19.

THE WHOLE SELF-DISTANCING WEEKEND & BEYOND

Music Friendly Distancing @ Empty Bottle’s Youtube channel, at your place, WHAT: Bring a little bit of Empty Bottle into your home through YouTube! SO WHAT: Empty Bottle will be practicing #MusicFriendlyDistancing during these stay-at-home days. It’s perfect for those of us needing a little bit of that fun the Bottle would provide. Jump over to YouTube and catch some excellent content! You can check out the rest of the previous #MFD mixes here! NOW WHAT: YouTube is the place to be! Log on and support the Empty Bottle. You can also send money to the storied venue here.  Hannibal Buress' Miami Nights @ Youtube, at the most inviting place in your home, any time you need a laugh WHAT: A new hilarious special from a fantastic comedian! SO WHAT: Chicago-born Hannibal Buress dropped his new special Miami Nights over the Fourth of July weekend and it's great! The special was filmed at the end of last year, with the centerpiece of the hour+ special being his arrest in Miami in 2017 (clowning on crummy cops is always funny).  Everything about the special feels essential, from the always amazing delivery that comes from Buress' comedic cadence to the prescient content to the overwhelming entertaining production of the whole affair. Seriously it goes beyond the usual comedian on stage format and does something more throughout! NOW WHAT: Here's the link to the special! Start it up whenever you feel the need for a good laugh and enjoy!

Virtual Cinema @ Music Box Theatre, unsurprisingly at your home, any time you want to watch a movie, WHAT: A great way to support a great local theater SO WHAT: The Music Box Theatre has reopened and you can go catch a myriad of great films like Iron Giant, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, new films I Used to Go Here, The Rental, and Jaws 2 in for the  Music Box Garden Movies live and in person! But if your still feeling hesitant about going out and about during the pandemic, you can still watch great moves and support them online! They are currently screening films via their Virtual Cinema with The Music Box series! Check out films like Amulet; Beats; Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind ; The Fight; Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful; I Used to Go Here; and John Lewis: Good Trouble this weekend! NOW WHAT: Digital tickets are $12, so sit back and enjoy! Their door are also open, so if you feel comfortable, put on your mask and go see a movie at the Music Box Theatre! The Hideout Online @ Hideout's New online Streaming Home Mixer!, on your favorite streaming device, usually in the evening WHAT: Miss the good times spent at the Hideout? Well here's the digital version! SO WHAT: While we may not be able to properly hang at the Hideout just yet, we can still experience all the dancing, bingo, talk shows, music, comedy, and Robbie Fulks we can handle from home! You just jump on over to Hideout Online to join in on the Hideout digital community. You'll be able to "tip" the performers via a virtual tip jar that will be split 80% for the performers, 20% for the Hideout, so you'll be supporting the Hideout community every time you contribute. Check out their schedule below or at their website and get ready for some fun! NOW WHAT: Head to Hideout Online, tip these fine folks accordingly, and enjoy the Hideout vibes at home! Film Center from Your Sofa @ The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute, your couch or preferred movie watching spot in your place, pretty much any time WHAT: The Film Center at Home SO WHAT:The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute is continuing their excellent series Film Center from Your Sofa .This is a fun way to stay in digital touch with the Film Center and watch some great films from the comfort of home! Enjoy films like Beyond the Visible Hilma AF Klint, The Tobacconist, Waiting for the Barbarians, Carmilla (Facebook Live Q&A with director Emily Harris, moderated by Melika Bass), John Lewis: Good Trouble, A Girl Missing, My Dog Stupid, Rebuilding Paradise, The Cuban, Song Without a Name, A Thousand Cuts, Seasons of Change on Henry's Farm (preorder for 8/14), Days of the Whale (with a special Q&A on August 6th with director Catalina Arroyave Restrepo, moderated by journalist, essayist, and educator Esther Cepeda) and more! A few films' availability end today, so head over to their listings and start watching! NOW WHAT: Digital tickets are $12, so sit back and enjoy!   New Talks and Video Archives @ Chicago Humanities Festival YouTube channel, your favorite browser or YouTube's app, any time you want some inspiration, All Ages WHAT: Interesting conversations with interesting people! SO WHAT: Chicago Humanities Festival brings some of the best ideas to the surface with entertaining programming that captures your imagination. Their website is constantly updated with upcoming talks and a wealth of previous events in their archives! NOW WHAT: Head over to their website for more details om upcoming events and take a look at their past events here! Fun Times with Local Museums @ the comfort of your own home, a various collection of websites, whenever you want a little dose of educational fun, All Ages WHAT: A chance to explore and help out some great local museums during these quarantine days SO WHAT: Our incredible Museums editor Mariel Bokor has compiled a great list of interesting programming available from museums like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, MSI, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium during this stay at home time. Check out part one of the roundup featuring tons of programming suggestions and then head over to part two where you can see even more great museums and info on how to support them! NOW WHAT: Check out our article and discover something new! Concerts Live-streams and Local Shows Archives @ Your House, Any time you please, All Ages WHAT: There's tons of concerts from Chicago's yesteryear available online for your enjoyment! SO WHAT: Oh My Rockness and Do312 has done a fantastic job of cataloging some of the upcoming live-streams from the awesome musical acts out there! Check out Oh My Rockness' listings here, Do312's roundup of shows here, and tune in to these great shows from the comfort of home! Do312 have also shared some past Chicago shows that are certainly worth of a watch. There are also so many great local concerts recorded for posterity and what better time to check them all out than during this self isolation period. Audiotree has a fantastic and huge list of sessions with links to band's websites and merch to help support them even more. In addition to our previous recommendations like Fran, Tasha, KAINA, Divino Nino, and The Ophelias, we also recommend ROOKIE, Emily Blue, Sen Morimoto, Beach Bunny, Tennis, and Gia Margaret! Then head over to their record concerts from Lincoln Hall, Schubas, and beyond to check out Orville Peck, of Montreal, and so many more! JBTV is also a fantastic resource for sessions from bands that have come through Chicago! Just take a look at this playlist of Blind Melon's '95 set at Metro! And of course Metro's Twitter is still doling out daily selections of past shows! NOW WHAT: Stay home, watch some live music, and be sure to check out your favorite artists' social media, you never know who might be live streaming next! Video Games @ Your home PC or Console, As long as it takes, Just check the game rating WHAT: Video-games for all! SO WHAT: Check out our games page for some recommendations of what games to download (and avoid) while we're stuck at home. If you're a PC user, head over to the Epic Games store as they have released a few new FREE games for you to download including 3 Out of 10 Ep.1, Wilmot's Warehouse, Sludge Life, and Delores: A Thimble Weed Adventure! There are also tons of free games on Twitch Prime waiting for you to download! NOW WHAT: Wash your hands and dive head first into some fun games!

The Quarantine Concerts @ Experimental sound Studios, Your best sounding internet connected device, at various times WHAT:  Experimental Sound Studio, Elastic Arts and the Hideout's Resonance Series come together for a series of amazing livestreamed concerts SO WHAT: The Quarantine Concerts is collaborative series which aims to give artists a space to share their work and continue earning a living during this time when live, in person, performances have been cancelled due to COVID-19. This is a perfect opportunity to unite the community for a few hours of amazing musicians. This weekend includes Autistic Pride Day Concert, Concert for Chicago Freedom School, and tons more! You can check out their full schedule for the rest of the week here. NOW WHAT: Head over to their Twitch stream and start watching some great shows. There is a suggested donation of $5 per evening. 100% of the donations contributed during each performance go to the artists who played that night.

Reading Events Online @ American Writers Museum, month of April WHAT: The American Writers Museum is offering many programs online, including evening author talks and Saturday morning Little Squirrels Storytime. SO WHAT: Kids can watch Little Squirrels Storytime at 10:30am on Saturdays, with three pre-recorded stories read each time. Watch it on Facebook but videos will also be posted to YouTube and IGTV if you can't tune in live. NOW WHAT: These events are free. Check the events calendar and register for author talks. Registration isn’t required for Little Squirrels Storytime. The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral 30 Digital Plays in 60 Analog Minutes @ The Neo Futurists' Patreon, one episode a week, 14+ WHAT: Quick plays online! SO WHAT: The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral! 30 Digital Plays in 60 Analog Minutes is the online adaptation of the Neo Futurists', ongoing, ever-changing attempt to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes for a live audience. Since live audiences are still a no-no, this is the perfect way to experience this fun project from home! NOW WHAT: Join the Neo Futurists' Patreon page for either $3, $5, or $9 a week (with added incentives in the higher tiers) and enjoy the 30 plays in an hour every week! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K42ZUUBeHSY&feature=emb_title Masque of the Red Coronavirus! @ Black Button Eyes Productions, Any time on your computer or mobile device. For 18+. WHAT: Written by Black Button Eyes Productions producing artistic director Ed Rutherford, this short satirical piece is available online free as a combined script-and-video experience. SO WHAT: In addition to reading the play, you will see various Chicago artists act out portions of the script on video, recorded remotely. The event includes puppets, burlesque, original music, fire dancing and more in a brief, darkly comedic confection. With the Red Coronavirus running rampant across the countryside and a vaccine still months away, what's a Prince to do? Lock himself in a secure bunker in an undisclosed location along with a cohort of his top donors, of course. To prevent him and his rich supporters from becoming bored, the Prince has also brought a few artists into the bunker to entertain the crowd. But as the hour grows later and the night grows weirder, it's clear that something else has also invaded the party. NOW WHAT: Settle down for an evening of magical weirdness. Click here and begin reading and watching the videos. Bring the Zoo to You @ Brookfield Zoo's Facebook page, when you want to see some animals besides your pets or specifically 11:00am, All Ages WHAT: A great way to make your kids' time at home entertaining and educational NOW WHAT: Join Brookfield Zoo on Facebook every weekday at 11:00am for a "Bring The Zoo To You" Facebook Live featuring one of their animals as well as plenty of educational, informative insight from one of our Animal Care Specialists. If you can't make it at 11, that's okay. The video will be saved afterward on Facebook as well as on their YouTube channel. SO WHAT: Just jump in to the chat at their Facebook page to learn something new
2666--Binge Theater Online Free @ Goodman Theatre website, your favorite web browser, whenever you have 5.5 hours of free time to binge watch this great play WHAT: In 2016, Goodman Theatre staged 2666, a 5.5-hour adaptation of the massive masterpiece novel by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño SO WHAT: Goodman has made 2666 available for streaming free since 2018. The production comes in four linked parts (they can be watched individually) set in five distinct time periods and geographic locations, including the Nazi era and a Mexican city where the police department is a bit lax about solving hundreds of femicides. Read our review. We called it "a stupendous display of theatrical hubris." NOW WHAT: View 2666 here. Each segment runs 68-80 minutes.
#stay at home#things to do in chicago
Julian Ramirez