Holiday lights, vintage finds and more Chicago weekend fun
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Illumination's Northern Lights installation. Photo: Courtesy of Morton Arboretum
In case you missed it, we're fully in the holiday events calendar, despite the unseasonably warm weather making us think otherwise.
We have some ideas for embracing the holiday spirit, connecting with nature and embracing civic pride.
Carrie's picks
🌟 I'm a sucker for holiday decorations, and Illumination at Morton Arboretum is like the Super Bowl of lights. Think Clark Griswold, but classy. Friday's IllumiBrew features seasonal beers and ciders ($85) and Sensory Night on Tuesday offers a more toned-down sensory experience. | $20+ | Morton Arboretum | Friday-Jan. 2
🧑🎨 If you're always seeking the most unique gift, the Pop-up Art Market at Intuit Art Museum will be a good stop. It includes handmade work by local creators, including youth artists from SkyART. While you're at the museum dedicated to diverse and self-taught artists, check out "Living Record: Look Back to Go Forward," an interactive exhibition that digs into a time capsule created in 2021. | Free | Intuit Art Museum | Saturday, 11am-6pm
🏛️ As the Driehaus Museum's first artist in residence this year, Brendan Fernandes transformed the museum's 1926 Murphy Auditorium into a modern space with "Scores for the Murphy Auditorium." Fernandes choreographed a rotating cast of dancers performing to a sound installation by Chicago-based experimental musician Alex Inglizian. This weekend is the last chance to catch the show! | Free | Driehaus Museum | Saturday, 3-5pm
Justin's picks
🎸 Punk rock meets political comedy: Chicago indie-rock veteran Jason Narducy joins comedian and "The Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead for a conversation about music, politics and comedy at Evanston's SPACE. The discussion will be recorded for the Talkhouse podcast, followed by a performance from Narducy and his former Verbow bandmate, cellist Alison Chesley. | $27+ | SPACE | Sunday, 7:30pm
🛍️ Randolph Street Market moves indoors this weekend for its holiday bazaar. Expect the usual assortment of vintage treasures, antiques and quirky finds. It's my favorite vintage market, partly because of the great 1970s-era stuff. I once scored a few vintage McDonald's plates there! | $20 | Plumbers Hall | Saturday, 10am–7pm; Sunday, 10am–5pm
🎤 Who knows? That's the question at Andrew Huff's 20x2 live reading series at GMan Tavern. Twenty Chicago writers, artists, musicians and other creatives each get two minutes to answer it. I've participated a few times and it's always a blast. | $20 | GMan Tavern | Sunday, doors at 6:30pm
Monica's picks
🇲🇽 After hearing great things about "Mexodus" and its hip-hop depiction of the little-known Underground Railroad that traveled south to Mexico, I'm headed to see the musical this weekend. In a city where Latino-Black tensions have risen in recent years, I'm glad to see a show highlighting an era of crucial cooperation. | $36+ | Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building | Through Nov. 21 various times
🏛️ The civics nerd in me revels in Chicago's yearly Civics Day when folks can check out hands-on art-making activities, learn about community resources and even go on a Chicago civic history tour with 77Flavors' Dario Durham and Sara Faddah. | Free with registration | Chicago Cultural Center | Saturday, 10:30am-4pm
🌳 I've spent many an exhilarating morning helping clear invasive buckthorn from Cook County Forest Preserves, but I never knew you could use it to create fabric dye. Folks interested in the process can attend a workshop on it. | Free with registration | Caldwell Woods Wellness Center | Saturday, 5pm