Free Street Theater joins up with Plant Chicago for a winter market and storytelling event at Plant Chicago’s building (4459 S. Marshfield). From 11 AM-3 PM, you can enjoy stories (1-2 PM), songs from Orcas Are Dolphins (playing 11:30 AM-1 PM), a clothing swap, and the chance to purchase wares from local vendors, including Zeitlin’s Delicatessen, Soap Junkii, Bee-utiful Honey, Little Mama’s Cookies, and more. Free, but you can reserve a spot through Eventbrite. (KR)
Over the next few weekends there will be no shortage of holiday art markets. This weekend I’ve got my eye on two: one at the collectively-run avant-garde art space Happy Gallery (902 N. California) and another at emerging all-purpose artsy event space Color Club (4146 N. Elston). The former will run from noon-5 PM today and feature a slate of funky and fun handmade items. The latter, organized by Vintage House Chicago, will run from noon-5 PM today and tomorrow at Color Club and includes 25 vendors selling vintage and one of a kind wares. Between the two, you’re sure to get a lot of your shopping list taken care of! (MC)
Black Ensemble Theater (4450 N. Clark) offers musical celebration year-round, but they’re going all in for the holidays with Joy to the World, written and directed by founder and CEO Jackie Taylor and featuring a lineup of BET favorites, including Robin DaSilva, Rhonda Preston, Lyle Miller, Dwight Neal, Colleen Perry, and Aaron Reese Boseman. It runs today at 3 and 7 PM, with additional performances tomorrow at 3 PM and next weekend (Sat 3 and 7 PM and Sun 3 PM). Tickets are $51.50-$56.50 including fees, and can be purchased at 773-769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org. (KR)
If you’ve been following the work of Reader social justice reporter Debbie-Marie Brown, you’ve probably caught their recent profile on space disco DJ Zeetus Lapetus and their article on gods closet, the monthly clothing pop-up that provides free clothing and a safe space for gender expression. At 6:30 PM, Zeetus Lapetus and gods closet founder Wing Yun Schreiber will join filmmaker and performance artist Issy Hung for a panel titled “How Personal Style Heals and Connects.” This program is hosted at Jude Gallery (629 W. Cermak, Suite 240) and is organized by the Land of Arden, an experimental boutique clothing store project and self-described “fantasy land where queer bodies dress in queer cloth.” Any and every person who’s interested in fashion, embodiment, and self care should attend! (MC)
Jesse Sandwich, DJ booker at the California Clipper and our latest Chicagoan of Note, is having a birthday party! Celebrate Sandwich’s 42 years of surfing soundwaves and cosmic vibrations with a get-down at the California Clipper (1002 N. California) featuring Greg D and Noleian Reusse. Get your dancing shoes on by 9 PM, and while there’s no cover, you must be 21 or older to get in on the action. (MC)
If you’re looking for a late night laugh, iO Theater (1501 N. Kingsbury) is back in business. Tonight you can catch The Improvised Movie, a longform narrative show presented by Take Two. The improvisors create two 30-minute movies based on audience suggestions; and during this season are working in the holiday movie genre. If you’ve been looking for a send-up of your favorite Hallmark classic tale of “overworked single newspaper editor inherits small Vermont town from previously unknown uncle who was famous for his Elf on a Shelf imitation,” um, err, or something like that, hit iO to join the fun. Tonight’s show starts at 10:30 PM; the last two shows for the run happen Sat 12/17 at 10:30 PM and Sat 12/31 at 8 PM. Tickets for all three dates are available at See Tickets. (SCJ)