Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 3/7 and Beyond

It's the calm before next week's St. Patty's Day celebrations, but that doesn't mean there aren't great events going on this weekend. Markets, concerts, food, movies, and more are waiting for you to stop by and enjoy. So get ready and make the best of these amazing events!

Now, let's get on with your Chicago Curated Weekend!

ART GALLERIES & SPECIAL EVENTS

THIS WEEKEND

THURSDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 7-9 (& BEYOND)

Synth Fest 2024 @ Marz Community Brewing, 3630 S Iron St, Various Times
WHAT: Good beer, great music, and an awesome flea market
SO WHAT: Share the love of electronic and synthesizer music with some like-minded folks over at Marz Community Brewing. Check out some live performances from Chicagoland's excellent electronic music scens, have a few brews, and don't miss out on the Synth Flea Market! Check out the full lineup on their website!

  • 3/7 - 8 – 11pm at Life On Marz
    • Ken Zawacki
    • Mike Broers
  • 3/8 - 8pm – Midnight at Marz Taproom
    • Synth Loaf
    • Bobby Conn
    • Drasii
    • Hunter Husar
  • 3/9 - 8pm – Midnight at Life On Marz
    • Senders Night feat:
      • Mkyleste
      • Wolfgang Amadidas
      • Chris Kalis

NOW WHAT: It's free to attend!

Rosemont Restaurant Week 2024 @ Various Restaurants, Various Times
WHAT: A great way to explore cuisine and fine dining at restaurants throughout Rosemont
SO WHAT: Take a break from eating at home and make the trek out to Rosemont as they celebrate foodies with their Restaurant Week! Restaurants will highlight their dining options with special prix-fixe menus to enjoy at a variety of price points and with tons of other activities and places to stay in Rosemont, you can make a little staycation out of it!
NOW WHAT: Head over to their website and check out all the participating restaurants and their offer

FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 1-3 (& BEYOND)

The Neo-Futurists’ The Infinite Wrench @ The Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N Ashland, Friday and Saturday 10:30pm, Sunday 7:00pm, 16+
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!
NOW WHAT: Join the Neo-Futurists this weekend for $20!  The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral will be continuing til February (and possibly beyond) over at their Patreon

SATURDAY, MARCH 9

Sausagefest @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery, 737 W Randolph St., Noon - 4pm
WHAT: Beer, Sausage, and good times!
SO WHAT: Get your fill of tasty encased meats and even tastier beers at this fun event at Haymarket. You'll have a chance to try over 20 different kinda of sausage and 30 craft brew selections to wash them down! Then you'll get to vote on the best meaty treat!
NOW WHAT: Tickets are $65 for this great day of food and drinks!

Handmade Market Chicago @ Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western Ave, Noon – 4:30pm
WHAT: Shopping, eating, and drinking all in one place
SO WHAT: Grab a drink from the Empty Bottle Bar, and start shopping the Handmade Market Chicago! They will bring a nice collection of makers with beautiful and unique items to the Empty Bottle! Join in and see what all the sellers will have to offer. You can check out some of the sellers that will be featured over on their Facebook page.
NOW WHAT: This event as always is free!

SUNDAY, MARCH 10 (& BEYOND)

Chicago Vinyl Connection: Northside @ Emporium Arcade Bar Logan Square, 2363 N Milwaukee Ave., Noon – 5:00pm, all ages
WHAT: A vinyl popup at a great arcade bar
SO WHAT: Chicago Vinyl Connection is back for 2024 with a nice lineup of vendors selling some choice slabs of wax.  Presented by Miyagi Records, South Rhodes Records, and Beverly Phono Mart, this vinyl market will feature amazing record dealers like A1 Records + CDs, Black Diamons Records, Fono Ritmos, Groove Thang, Sonorama, Thirdhand Records, Waxson74! While you look for a hidden gem or have a drink at the bar you can enjoy some DJ sets from Girly***, Penny Candy, Selective Listening, Serchlite, and Twelve Gage!
NOW WHAT: Entry is free!

St. Patrick's Day @ Gallagher Way, 3635 N Clark St., 11am- 3pm, all ages
WHAT: A little early St. Patrick's Day Celebration!
SO WHAT: Enjoy your Sunday with live performances including mini Irish Dancing lessons from Old Town School of Folk Music, Irish dancing performance by the Trinity Irish Dancers, Irish bagpipe performance by the Shannon Rovers, face painting, balloon artists, arts and crafts, and more! Let’s not forget the adults with green beer, Irish coffee, Guinness and more!
NOW WHAT: Entry is free! Just make your way to Gallagher Way and enjoy.

THE WHOLE CURATED WEEKEND & BEYOND

Chicago Irish Film Festival @ Theater on the Lake, AMC NEWCITY and the Gallery Theater/Your Place (your favorite spot to watch a movie at home), Various Times
WHAT: A little cinematic trip to Ireland.
SO WHAT: The Chicago Irish Film Festival is back for their 25th year of splendid Irish films, spreading the love with both in-person and virtual programming. Boasting an impressive collection of feature-length films, shorts of both the live action and animated variety, and documentary films, Chicago Irish Film Festival is ready to give you a glimpse into the creativity of Irish filmmaking! Check out their full program on their website!
NOW WHAT: Tickets are $165 for the all access passes, $120 for in-person all access passes, and $75 for the virtual festival passes!

Northside Restaurant Week 2024 @ Various Restaurants, Various Times
WHAT: A great way to explore cuisine and fine dining at restaurants throughout the Northside
SO WHAT: Take a break from eating at home and check out some of the great restaurants in the expanded Northside Restaurant Week! Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, Edgewater, Northcenter, Rogers Park, and Uptown restaurants are now included in this fantastic foodie event! Enjoy cuisine from all over the world—from Argentinian, French, and Italian to southern comfort food and beyond. Restaurants will show off their wide array of dining options with special prix-fixe menus to enjoy.
NOW WHAT: Head over to their website and check out all the [participating restaurants and their offering

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 and Lincoln Hall!
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 these great venues

NOW WHAT: Head out to Schubas & Lincoln Hall and enjoy this great lineup of shows!

Movies on the Big Screen and Home @ Music Box Theatre, 3733 N Southport Ave, various times
WHAT: A great way to support a great local theater
SO WHAT: The Music Box Theatre is ready to fill that art house need in you with some excellent movies including 35mm screenings of Dune: Part Two in 70mm, Perfect Days, , 2024 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts, 2024 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts and more!
NOW WHAT: Sit back and enjoy a new film at one of our favorite movie theatres in the city!

Chicago Humanities: 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 always brings some of the best ideas to the surface with entertaining programming that captures your imagination. Their year may be over, but certainly be on the lookout for updates for next year's season as their website is constantly updated with new talks. 

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 2023

University of Chicago Folk Festival @ Your favorite spot in your home, All Ages
WHAT: A fantastic folk festival
SO WHAT: University of Chicago Folk Festival might have come and gone but their digital presence is still around, making sure the wonderful music reaches as many people as possible! You can check out the past few years of performances on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel any time you want! This past year's performers included The Price Sisters, Brian Conway, Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton, Ruby John, Sean "Mack" McDonald, and many more!
NOW WHAT: Head over to their Facebook page and their YouTube channel and enjoy the show! We highly encourage you to donate to help support this fantastic folk festival!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K42ZUUBeHSY&t=3s

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 watch this fun piece

Julian Ramirez