🙀 Happy Thursday! Did the weekend sneak up on you too?

• Don't worry, we'll help you make some fun plans, even if that means catching up on the latest TV shows.

Today’s newsletter is 948 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Thirteen months after the death of multifaceted Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick, his friends and fans continue to celebrate him, this time highlighting his little-known work as a songwriter among other things.

What's happening: "Something Beautiful: Works, Songs and Poems of Tony Fitzpatrick" takes the stage Wednesday and Thursday at Constellation in Avondale.

• We're giving you a heads up now before tickets get snatched up!

What to expect: The show features performances by Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, Quin Kirchner, Al Scorch, John Szymanski and Rick Kogan, all reciting or singing the words of the late Chicago artist, poet, columnist and author.

The inspiration: "Something Beautiful" producer John Soss says the show's name emerged from a time in 2023 when he, Langford and Fitzpatrick were rehearsing a tribute show for the late Lin Brehmer called "Cinderella Blackbird" and Fitzpatrick remarked:

• "I always thought the most productive part of grieving is to try and wring something beautiful out of it."

If you go: Tickets are $31 and a portion of the proceeds will be allocated to the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Trust.

Find out more

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

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Whether you're looking for sci-fi, suspense or stand-up, there are fresh streaming titles to choose from this week. Here are five to consider.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — Season 3 on Prime Video

• Set long before Frodo enters the story, the prequel shows how Sauron builds the power that will threaten Middle-earth generations later.

The Good Daughter — Available Thursday on Peacock

• Sisters played by Meghann Fahy and Rose Byrne return to the Georgia town where their mother was killed two decades earlier.

Janelle James: How Romantic — Stand-up special now on Netflix

• The "Abbott Elementary" star talks about relationships, money and the social rules she wants to challenge.
• Fun fact: James started doing comedy in Champaign and taped her first hour-long special at The Vic.

👮🏼 Carrie's streaming rec: For fellow BritBox subscribers out there, the new season of "Blue Lights" is now available!

Go deeper: See what else is new this week

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Edited by Larry Graham.