Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 1/27 and Beyond

It's a new year and we're still in the thick of it. The Omicron stage in our pandemic journey is roaring loudly and we need to stay safe! Stores, restaurants, and venues are seemingly fully open with mask and vaccination requirements, but some shows are being moved and outright cancelled. So if you still don't feel entirely safe to go out you can always stay in and support these places from home. But if you do plan to go out this weekend, make sure you check out the venue's policies and quite honestly, take initiative. Wear a mask, social distance, and get your vaccination shots and your booster even if the venue/event is lax. Protect yourself and those around you. Now, let's get on with your Chicago Curated Weekend!

THURSDAY - SATURDAY, JANUARY 27th - 29th

Weekend Shows @ Lincoln Hall & Schubas, 2424 N Lincoln Ave & 3159 N Southport Ave, various times, 18+ WHAT: A full weekend of amazing shows at Schubas! SO WHAT: Lincoln Hall and Schubas are some of our favorite venues in the city and they always have something great going on. Check out what's going this weekend at Schubas! NOW WHAT: Head out to Schubas and enjoy this great lineup of shows! Please note: proof of vaccination is required for entry to all shows at Lincoln Hall and Schubas in Chicago. Click here for more information on this policy.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY, JANUARY 28th & 29th

The Neo-Futurists' The Infinite Wrench @ The Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N Ashland, Friday 10:30pm, Saturday 7:00pm WHAT: Quick plays live and online! SO WHAT: The Neo-Futurists are back! Their Infinite Wrench is an  ongoing, ever-changing attempt to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes for a live audience. Now it's actually a live audience that will be enjoying the performance in person! With plenty of COVID precautions in place, you'll be able to enjoy the funny, disgusting, profound, terrifying, irreverent, and downright entertaining show with friends! They won't bwe open this weekend but plan ahead as vaccination cards will be checked and booster will be required to be fully vaccinated starting on January 30th. This week will also feature I,Object! 30 Neo-Futurist Puppet Plays and will be on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. NOW WHAT: Join the Neo-Futurists this weekend for $10! Head over to their website to see all they have planned now that in-person audiences are a thing again! If you're still a little anxious about going out, The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral will be continuing til February (and possibly beyond) over at their Patreon!

FRIDAY - SUNDAY, JANUARY 28th - 30th

WHAT: An old school experience for the modern age SO WHAT: Take a trip back in time and head out to a drive-in movie with ChiTown Movies. Ever since the pandemic started and shut down traditional movie screening, a few pop up drive-ins have arrived and ChiTown Movies has preservered, offering up modern movies in this retro setting. Check out their lineup below for showings this weekend and in the future! NOW WHAT: Tickets are $33 per car for these movies, so bring the family for a safe movie watching experience

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29th

Fulton Street Collective Jazz Series @ ​Fulton Street Collective & Their YouTube channel, 1821 W. Hubbard St, Suite 307, or the coziest spot in your home, 8:00pm WHAT: Some excellent jazz for your evening SO WHAT: Fulton Street Collective are back with in-person events, but they are still determined to give Chicago its much needed dose of jazz at home! Most of their shows are also streaming so you can see and hear the beautiful music on their YouTube channel! Below are just some of the upcoming shows from the collective. NOW WHAT: The shows are free! Also you should definitely support Fulton Street Collective by becoming a member!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30th

Pilsen Vendor Market @ Pilsen Art House, 1756 W 19th St, Noon – 5:00pm WHAT: A socially distanced mini handmade market! SO WHAT: This is a weekly market for artists and makers to come together, make new friends and sell their wonderful wares. NOW WHAT: Entry is free, just be sure to wear your mask as they are required!

THE WHOLE SELF-DISTANCING WEEKEND & BEYOND

  Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival @ Various Locations, Various Times WHAT: Discover the world of puppetry over the next two weeks! SO WHAT: Add a little something different to your weekend plans as the Chicago International Puppet Theater festival makes it's way to town. Check out a variety of shows, experiences, and workshops throughout town and home letting audiences immerse themselves in a world of puppets. Special events like neighborhood tours and The Plastic Bag Store will be great multiday highlights! Check out this weekend's lineup below and the rest of the festival's schedule at their website ! NOW WHAT: You can find full ticket info in the links above or on the festivals website! Winterland @ Gallagher's Way, 3635 N Clark St, Various times, All Ages WHAT: Some more winter festivities SO WHAT: Just because the holiday season is over doesn't mean you can still have some winter time fun. Gallagher Way's Winterland is still offering up some great events over the weekend s with ice bumper cars and regular ice skating! This is the last weekend for the bumper cars currently scheduled so head out and enjoy those while they last! NOW WHAT: Ice bumper Cars tickets are $15 while Ice Skating admission is free for kids 12 and under, $6 for those 13+, and skate rental is $12. You can find more information at their website! Buddy Guy and Special Guests @ Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S Wabash Ave, Various times, 21+ WHAT: Experience one of the great musicians of all time performing live! SO WHAT: Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy is back for 16 electrifying shows over the next four weekends at Buddy Guy’s Legends. He’ll be performing with 15 amazing musicians including Bobby Rush, Robert Fetzer, Kingfish, Demetria Taylor and more! CHeck out the remaining dates beleow! NOW  WHAT: Tickets are $65 for standing room and $99 for reserved seating ! Remember to mask up and bring a copy of your vaccination card! Most of the remaining performances are sold out.
New Talks and Video Archives @ Various Locations & Chicago Humanities Festival YouTube channel, your favorite browser or YouTube app, any time you want some inspiration, All Ages WHAT: Interesting conversations with interesting people! SO WHAT: Chicago Humanities Festival is back with some  in-person events! They always bring some of the best ideas to the surface with entertaining programming that captures your imagination. Be on the lookout for the next season as their website is constantly updated with new talks, so check out the wealth of upcoming and previous events in their archives! NOW WHAT: Head over to take a look at their past events here! You should also sign up for their email list to get updates on upcoming talks in 2022.

Sanctuary From Forgotten Blocks Photo Exhibition @ Kusanya Café, 825 W 69th St. Exhibit open 4-7pm daily WHAT: The ongoing photo series, Sanctuary From Forgotten Blocks: A Photo Essay Showing the Beauty and Strength of Englewood, consists of images taken in the West Englewood community. SO WHAT: The exhibit shows the community in ways we usually don’t see because they don’t conform to the standard violence stories the media tell. NOW WHAT: The free event is sponsored by the Kusanya Café Art Collective and ThoughtPoetsOpinion. The exhibit will show works by photographer Isiah ThoughtPoet Veney. See more info here. The exhibit is open 4 to 7pm daily through February 1. Photos are available for purchase and proceeds will go to HER Chicago and GoodKidsMadCity.

Tony Fitzpatrick: Jesus of Western Avenue @ Cleve Carney Museum of Art, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn,  Various times Wednesday - Sunday, All Ages WHAT: Prints, drawings, and collages from a local legend SO WHAT: Cleve Carney Museum of Art will be housing Jesus of Western Avenue, a collection of 60 recent works from Tony Fitzpatrick's great artistic mind! Fitzpatrick's art is intrinsically tied to Chicago and the Midwest, delivering stories and visuals that could only be birthed by our formidable city. You can read our review of The Secret Birds here! NOW WHAT: The exhibit is free! You can RSVP and select times over at their website! 

Back on the Big Screen and Virtual Cinema @ Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave and 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 is currently open to the public, so if you feel comfortable you can go out and have a theater experience this weekend with Licorice Pizza, The Velvet Queen, The Scary of Sixty-First, The Conversation, Last and First Men, The Freshman Part of: Silent Cinema at the Music Box, Yojimbo Part of: Black and White CinemaScope Matinees, a Midnight screening of New York Ninjaand more! But if you want to watch some first-run movies at home, you can still watch great movies and support them online! They are currently screening films via their The Music Box Direct series! There are also tons of select titles available on their new platform! NOW WHAT: Digital tickets are $12, in person screenings vary, so sit back and enjoy! Remember that a physical/digital vaccination card or a negative PCR Covid test within 72 hours is required for entrance!
Lyric Opera Streaming On Demand @ Your favorite streaming device, the most lavish spot in your home WHAT: The Lyric Opera at home SO WHAT: Revisit some of your favorite Lyric moments, or experience for the first time performances you've missed.Check out their website for schedule of upcoming shows. Currently streaming is Luisa Miller (2019), The Queen of Spades (2020), and Die Walküre (2017). NOW WHAT: It's free!!
Concerts Livestreams 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 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! 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 will be releasing a few new FREE games for you to download ! 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! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K42ZUUBeHSY
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.
Julian Ramirez