Ok, so we don't have a Fashion Week like New York or Paris. But Chicago is coming up in the style world (check out this slightly condescending New Yorker piece for proof). To celebrate, and to continue the progress, Chifa Elite Fashion Explosion hosts a number of the city's top designers -- including Alonzo Jackson, Alice Berry and Kevin Hill -- at Loft on Lake, 1366 W. Lake, from 7 p.m.-1 a.m.
The event, organized by The Bumblebee Network, will include a runway fashion show, artist performances (from DL Johnson, UNMOVABO, poet Yolonda Curtis and DJ Corey Sanford) and, of course, tons of networking opportunities. Tickets ($45, available here) include food and drink and a portion of proceeds will go to BUILD, Inc., a Chicago youth organization.
Open bars are all the rage in Chicago, but most of the time we're not sure why. With all the cash you pay up front, you spend most of your time lingering near the bar, sucking down watered-down well drinks as fast as possible in order to get your money's worth. Not exactly a recipe for a fun night out, in our opinion.
But there are exceptions, like this weekend's Drink for Hunger benefit -- a $30, three-hour open-bar event at AliveOne supporting the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Over the past five years, the event has raised money to supply more than 25,000 meals to Chicago's hungry, but it doesn't feel like a charity event (beyond the stickers they ask you to wear); it feels like a party. In addition to all-you-can-drink microbrews, domestics, wine and cocktails, you'll enjoy DJ entertainment (funk, soul and hip-hop) and a raffle with some sweet prizes, including signed memorabilia from Ernie Banks and Ozzie Guillen, a $100 spa gift certificate, drink packages at local bars and more.
So go ahead, hit the open bar hard, knowing that you have our blessing. Just don't blame us when you have a massive hangover on Sunday morning.
Svengoolie will be among the spooky stars at this weekend's Ghost Conference.(photo via myspace.com/svengoolie26)
Chicago Ghost Conference 5-11 p.m. Friday and 8:30 p.m.-midnight Saturday; Portage Theater; $50 for a two-day pass
Join paranormal experts and speakers for this annual event about all things otherworldly. This year's speakers include Lorraine Warren from A&E's "Paranormal State" and Jeff Belanger, paranormal author and creator of Ghostvillage.com, who join members of paranormal groups from around the country to educate, inform, network, share ideas and entertain others that are fascinated with the supernatural. If that's not enough, Chicago legend Svengoolie makes an appearance on Friday night.
Wine, women and shoes: everyone likes at least one of these things. Come October 1, you can get them all at UNICEF's fourth annual fundraiser.
Held at the River East Art Center (435 E. Illinois), the $85/head event includes sales of designer shoes, handbags, jewelery and accessories from nationally known boutiques (including locals Akira, Lori's Shoes and Shirise), samples of fine wines (including Alexander Valley Vineyards and Two Angels), a raffle and a silent auction.
Proceeds will benefit UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Survival Initiative, a program that helps to reduce the number of children who die each day of preventable causes. Want tickets? Go here.
Four courses for $250. Sound pricey? It won't sound so bad when you realize that the money's going to help kids with cancer.
Toque: An Evening with Chicago's Culinary Masters, a benefit for Children's Oncology Services, Inc. (COSI), goes down on September 10 at the Harold Washington Library Winter Garden, 400 S. State. Journalist and Tallgrass Beef founder Bill Kurtis emcees, while Michael Kornick (mk) acts as chef coordinator of a menu that also features Graham Elliot Bowles (Graham Elliot), Paul Kahan (Avec, Blackbird, The Publican), Art Smith (Table Fifty-Two), Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Randy Zweiban (Province), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate) and many more.
The fun starts at 6 p.m. with cocktails, a silent auction and featured chef's stations, followed by a sit-down dinner with wine pairings at 7:15 p.m. (there will also be a live auction at that time). For tickets and more details, visit www.onestepcamp.org.
Got a cause you're passionate about? Put your money (and your booty) where your mouth is. On September 17, Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge in Wicker Park hosts the inaugural Music is the Weapon -- a party for local non-profit organizations. DJ Limbs and Man-O-Wax will provide the hip-hop, funk and house beats, while guests mingle and learn about the featured organizations. Here's why your support is important: 15 percent of the bar proceeds (usually the DJ's cut) from the night will go directly to the organization that brings in the most people.
Participating organizations for the first installment include Connect 4ce, which combines hip-hop and youth development, En Masse, a collective of Chicago creatives and Original Change Project, founded last year at Rush University to help non-profits be more effective. Know of an NPO that'd be a great fit for future events? Contact DJ Limbs (aka Victor Carreon) at djlimbs@gmail.com for more info -- participating orgs get a table/booth to hand out materials/make connections, plus free booze.
Cocktails and Planned Parenthood don't usually go together, unless it's in a particularly tasteless joke.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois has aimed to change that this summer with its Friday at Four Sexy Summer Cocktail Series at local bars. The final installment of the event goes down at LuxBar this Friday from 4-7 p.m.; for $25, you'll enjoy hosted wine, beer and appetizers, as well as additional drink and app specials. Proceeds will go to support access to affordable sexual health care. Buy your tickets here, and leave the jokes at home.
What's worse than being stuck in a hospital bed all day, every day? Being stuck in a hospital bed with nothing to watch on TV. You can do a little something to change that by dining at David Burke's Primehouse on Monday, aka National Lollipop Day.
A portion of the proceeds from every "Lollipop Tree" dessert (cheesecake lollipops with raspberry cream) sold that day will go to the Lollipop Theater Network, which helps raise funds to bring movies currently in cinemas to children confined in hospitals due to chronic and life-threatening illnesses. If even one child is saved from having to watch "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" for the 40th time, this will have been a rousing success.
...and that's just the start of it. Wednesday night's Gateway Green poker event at Galleria Marchetti will feature a number of minor Chicago celebrities, including Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and Kathy Hart of 101.9 FM's "Eric and Kathy" fame. While the opportunity to show a former Bull who's boss should be incentive enough, here's something else: the grand-prize winner of the charity event gets a spot in the 2010 World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.
Sign up as a player ($150) or a spectator ($25), and be sure to arrive by 5:30 p.m. for registration. The tournament beings at 6:30, and there will be other games (roulette, craps, blackjack) plus food, cocktails and more. If you can't pony up the cash, you can at least head to the official after-party at the Bull & Bear.
Ever since the Hideout's free Soup and Bread event ended, our Wednesday nights have felt empty (as have our stomachs). So it was with great enthusiasm that we learned of the organizers' latest venture: Veggie Bingo.
Every Wednesday night through September 9, you'll be able to enjoy fresh veggies from local gardens as well as free hot dogs and tofu pups. The bingo (featuring a different celebrity caller each week) will run from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and cards cost $1 each or $5 for six. Prizes for the winners include jars of locally produced honey, bottles of hot sauce, handmade soap and a box of fresh produce from Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks. All proceeds benefit NeighborSpace, a nonprofit organization that acquires and preserves community open space in the city.
The fun starts at 6 p.m. tonight, with local country singer Lawrence Peters doing the honors.
Want Ari Gold to swear at you? It could happen. One of several prizes in the silent auction at next week's Piven Theatre Workshop Annual Benefit is a walk-on role on "Entourage," the HBO show starring Jeremy Piven as a high-powered, foul-mouthed super-agent to the stars.
Piven will be at Rockit Bar & Grill on Saturday, June 20 to host the event with friend (and Rockit owner) Billy Dec from 6-10 p.m. Proceeds from the $125 tickets will help provide scholarships to kids wishing to train at the famed Piven workshop in Evanston. See, Ari's not as heartless as he sounds.
How much would you pay to have Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard cook dinner for you in your kitchen? If your answer's not at least $1000, it probably ain't gonna happen.
The bids are getting pretty high in Swan Creek Farm's benefit auction, which features in-home dinners for six from 15 different local chefs, including Izard, Bill Kim (Urban Belly), Carol Wallack (sola), Giuseppe Tentori (Boka), Randy Zweiban (Province) and more. The auction ends tonight between 8 p.m. and 9:20 p.m., so start scrounging.
If you can't afford the hefty donation (proceeds go to Swan Creek Farms, which just endured a debilitating truck fire), head to Goose Island Brewery tonight from 6-9 p.m. to find out who could. The $25 event also includes beer, snacks, giveaways and a contest for a free wine-tasting event at Juicy Wine Co.
Kanye West and his mom, the late Donda West, on stage together in 2006.(AP file)
Tickets go on sale Thursday for the next hometown concert by hip-hop hero Kanye West — and this one's for a special cause.
The performance will be 8:30 p.m. June 11 as part of the second "Stay in School" Benefit Concert at the Chicago Theatre, supporting the Kanye West Foundation, which was founded in 2007 by Kanye's momma, the late Dr. Donda West, to help combat the school dropout problem plaguing the country (along with Chicago Public Schools and S.H.O.W.). The show will also be broadcast later in the summer on Fuse TV.
Tickets range from $49.50 to $500 (for the VIP Reception) and can be purchased here.
From an event press release:
Highland Park High School sophomore, David Abrams, conceived the event concept as he listened to a story on NPR about a Chicago Public School (CPS) student who was failing out of school. As an incentive to stay in school, the student’s mother offered two tickets to a Lil Wayne concert. David then turned to his mom and said “We should do that – let’s get kids to SHOW up to school, get their grades up and put on a free concert for them.” David formed S.H.O.W (Students Helping Our World), which is run by a group of Highland Park teens and supported by parents like Wendy Abrams, an environmental activist and founder of Cool Globes. S.H.O.W formed partnerships with CPS, the City of Chicago, former quarterback of the Chicago Bears Kyle Orton, and ultimately the Kanye West Foundation.
... S.H.O.W will offer free tickets to students who demonstrate marked improvements in attendance and/or grades in the last quarter of the current school year. Approximately 3,000 inner city and Chicago area students will have the opportunity to meet Kanye West and experience an intimate behind-the-scenes snapshot of how he prepares for a concert.
“I have always had the desire to help people and make the world a better place. I believe that youth are the music for creating a world filled with harmony. To create such a world, however, we must all do our part,” Kanye says in the same statement.
Eating out tonight? Might we suggest a spot from this list? Those are the 61 area restaurants participating in the 16th annual Dining Out for Life, in which at least 25 percent of all food and liquor sales will be donated to support HIV/AIDS research and support. Last year Chicago raised over $80,000 to benefit AIDSCare. So fighting AIDS is as easy tonight as chowing down.
If you're like us, you budget for just a few meals out per week, so you want to make sure you choose wisely. We've studied up on this week's options, and present you with your best bets--conveniently sorted in order of cost.
Really Cheap
$2 Tapas 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday at Tapas Valencia
The recently transplanted restaurant welcomes diners to its new South Loop location with the introduction of its $2 Happy Hour menu. Guests will be able to select from a long list of hot and cold options, including tortilla con salmon (potato and onion omelet wrapped in Atlantic cured salmon) and datiles (bacon-wrapped dates with red bell pepper sauce).
Cheap
$9 lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday at Bin 36
You've got a couple more days to take advantage of the restaurant/wine bar's latest anniversary promotion, which includes your choice of a sandwich or a salad, plus a soft drink. Options include burgers, grilled cheese and chicken caesar salad. Stay tuned for the $8 promotion coming in May.
Cheap and for a Good Cause
$5 tasting of doughnuts (plus coffee, tea and hot chocolate) 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at Blue Sky Bakery and Cafe
To celebrate its first birthday, this Albany Park bakery gives us all gifts of sweet and savory fried goodness (rhubarb, rosemary and coconut are on the menu). Be warned: the place, which employs homeless or at-risk youth, offers a wide range of pastries and sandwiches, so you may end up spending a lot more than you planned.
Not Cheap, but for a Good Cause
13th Annual Girl Food Dinner 5:30 p.m. Sunday at West Town Tavern; $150 (call (312) 666-6175 to reserve)
Four female chefs (Nadia Tilkian, Maijean; Jill Barron, Mana Food Bar; Karen Armijo, Gary Comer Youth Center; and Jessica Olorose, Black Dog Gelato) join West Town Tavern chef/co-owner Susan Goss (and her husband, Drew) to prepare a five-course dinner which will raise money for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Wine pairings included.
And while we're on the subject of good causes...consider these two fine promotions: Dining Out for Life Thursday
Eat at one of many participating restaurants, and you'll be doing your part in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as the eatery will donate some percentage of its proceeds to AIDSCare.
Culinary Crusade: Join the Bite Against ALS Throughout May
Support the fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) by ordering the "Culinary Crusade Special" at a participating restaurant in May. You'll get a different dish depending on where you go. Venues include Adobo Grill (Wicker Park), Graziano's Brick Oven Pizza, Ina's, Tuscany (Wheeling and Oak Brook), Vinci and Wishbone (West Loop and Lake View).
In times like these, that luxurious lifestyle you always dreamed of can feel even further out of reach. But you don't have to be a millionaire to spend your weekend in the company of fine automobiles, gourmet food and sparkling jewelry--all you need is 20 bucks.
That's the admission fee for the Luxury Living Expo, April 24-26 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The three-day exhibit offers attendees a chance to get up close and personal with amenities they might never be able to afford (though you will have to pay for any of the sports memorabilia you win in the silent auction). The show runs 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Phillip Foss: bringing technology and food together since...last year.
Apparently, April is the month of technological firsts: the first bar with alcoholic atmosphere, Oprah's first Tweet, and, coming on Tuesday, the first digital tasting at Lockwood restaurant at the Palmer House Hilton.
Chef Phillip Foss, whose blog is a favorite among local foodies, will connect with Ohio farmer Lee Jones over Internet video during the dinner. The two will discuss sustainable agriculture and farming techniques and explain how the produce used in the meal made its way onto the plate. The menu includes butter-poached black cod, bacon-wrapped shad roe and a sampling of Dietzler Farm's beef, among other things.
The event, which runs from 6-9 p.m., costs $95 per person and benefits Veggie U., a non-profit that helps children make good nutritional choices. Call (312) 917-3404 to make a reservation.
It may not feel like spring (grrrrrrrr!), but one of the season's first garden items is rarin' to go. Ramps — the stinky wild onions that gave Chicago its name — are celebrated tonight at RampFest, 7 p.m. at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Enjoy oniony dishes prepared by local celebrity chefs. Tickets are $75-125 and benefit the Land Connection.
When the Beatles sang, "It's all too much for me to take" — shortly after they traveled to India in 1968 to study the Transcendental Meditation technique with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — the "it" they were referring to was love. These days, however, many of us say that, implying that the stresses of our daily lives are bearing down a bit too hard. And that's not just working adults. More and more young folks are showing signs of stress and anxiety. What to do? Beatles to the rescue!
At 11 a.m. Friday, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Russell Simmons (huh?) and David Lynch (double huh?), will conduct a press conference — to be broadcast live via the Web — to launch a global initiative to teach 1 million at-risk kids how to meditate. An hour before, several Chicago teachers, business professionals and others who practice TM will gather at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. in Oak Park, to talk about the techniques and their particular value. Local medical researcher Amparo Castillo will also be there to discuss the implications of recent research along these lines — adolescent health and the effects of stress. All sponsored by the Illinois Committee for Stress-Free Schools.
Saturday night, McCartney and Starr will share the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the “Change Begins Within” benefit concert to raise funds for the teaching of TM to young people.
Drink with a purpose tonight at Cobra Lounge, which hosts a release party for the first (and only) issue of Mouthpiece Magazine, a publication made by students at the International Academy of Design and Technology (our neighbors here in the Mart Plaza building).
The event, which starts at 8 p.m. (there will be a 7 p.m. meet-and-greet session if you're an early bird), features entertainment from DJs Broken Gold as well as specials like $2 Jim Beam, $2 Lone Star beer and half-price burgers. Copies of the mag will be on sale for $5, with all proceeds going toward the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education.
