November 15, 2017

Page 1


IN CHICAGO

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent nonprofit newsprint magazine written for and about neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. We publish in-depth coverage of the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews, and artwork from local photographers and illustrators. The South Side Weekly is dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists. Volume 5, Issue 8 Editor-in-Chief Hafsa Razi Managing Editors Julia Aizuss, Andrew Koski Directors of Staff Support Baci Weiler Community Outreach Jasmin Liang Senior Editor Olivia Stovicek Politics Editor Adia Robinson Education Editor Rachel Kim Stage & Screen Editor Nicole Bond Visual Arts Editor Rod Sawyer Food & Land Editor Emeline Posner Editors-at-Large Christian Belanger, Mari Cohen Contributing Editors Maddie Anderson, Mira Chauhan, Bridget Newsham, Adam Przybyl, Sam Stecklow, Margaret Tazioli, Yunhan Wen Data Editor Jasmine Mithani Radio Editor Erisa Apantaku Radio Host Andrew Koski Social Media Editors Bridget Newsham, Sam Stecklow Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Deputy Visuals Editor Lizzie Smith Photography Editor Jason Schumer Layout Editor Baci Weiler Staff Writers: Elaine Chen, Ashvini Kartik-Narayan, Michael Wasney Fact Checkers: Abigail Bazin, Sam Joyce, Bridget Newsham, Adam Przybyl, Hafsa Razi, Sam Stecklow, Rebecca Stoner, Tiffany Wang Staff Photographers: Denise Naim, Jason Schumer, Luke Sironski-White Staff Illustrators: Zelda Galewsky, Natalie Gonzalez, Courtney Kendrick, Turtel Onli, Raziel Puma Webmaster

Pat Sier

Publisher

Harry Backlund

Business Manager

Jason Schumer

The paper is produced by an all-volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. We distribute each Wednesday in the fall, winter, and spring. Over the summer we publish every other week. Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, contact: (773) 234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly.com

A week’s worth of developing stories, odd events, and signs of the times, culled from the desks, inboxes, and wandering eyes of the editors

#NoCopAcademy is a #NoGo On November 6, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate authorized the city to pay $9.6 million for 30.4 acres of land at 4301 W. Chicago Ave. that have stood vacant for forty years. This means that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has cleared the first hurdle toward building a $95 million public safety training campus with a giant pool on the West Side. This passed despite three and a half hours of debate and outcry from the public about abuse at the hands of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), ideas for how taxpayer money could be better used, hundreds of citizen calls to their aldermen, and a widely trending “NoCopAcademy” hashtag on social media. At the Council meeting, concerned citizens, community activists, and a lone alderman, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of the 35th Ward, took the floor in protest. They spoke about how Chicago citizens need their money to go toward schools, mental health services, and employment rather than the construction of new police academy facilities that don’t even promise training to reduce police abuse—especially when the city already spends forty percent of its budget on CPD, according to Forbes. Chance the Rapper was among those who took the floor, and later blocked the media from taking photos of his departure so as not to detract attention from the issue at hand. Emanuel left the room, but Chance spoke anyway. “I guess the mayor had to step out when I came up,” he said. “But it’s cool, I’m here to talk to you guys right now.” He continued, “What are we doing? I’ve been asking for money for over a year now to fund these classrooms, and…they have $95 million, they’re proposing $95 million for a cop academy.” “What are you doing?” is right. High Time for a Referendum on Recreational Weed 4/20 may come to Illinois sooner than expected: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced her support for Commissioners John Fritchey and Luis Arroyo Jr.’s plan to introduce the legalization of recreational marijuana on the March 20 primary ballot. Both Preckwinkle and Fritchey believe the current law places unnecessary strains on the court system and on the people who are left with an arrest record for possessing a plant used as a medicine in twenty-nine states—including this one. Even if the referendum results in favor of legalization, it won’t affect the law directly, but it may influence lawmakers down the line. Maybe they’ll realize that green begets green; the Marijuana Policy Project estimates that Illinois could generate between $350 and $700 million in government revenue every year. Sick of Corruption 20th Ward Alderman Willie Cochran announced he would not seek reelection next year, while claiming that his recent collapse in City Council and somewhat-less-recent federal indictment for corruption and bribery had no effect on the decision. “That was my plan anyway. Three terms and out. I believe in term limits,” Cochran, who the SunTimes described as “chomping on a banana,” told City Hall reporters this week during a committee meeting break. When a Tribune reporter pointed out that Cochran had never publicly discussed his belief in term limits, Cochran was defensive: “I’ve said it many times. Perhaps you just weren’t at the occasion where I said it.” (An in-depth review of news clippings from his nine years representing parts of Woodlawn, Washington Park, Englewood, and Back of the Yards shows no previous public comments on the subject.) At the very least, after he is replaced, there will no longer be a federal corruption indictment hanging over the ward office—he is the second consecutive 20th Ward alderman to face bribery charges, and one of thirty-plus aldermen indicted since the seventies.

Cover illustration by Siena Fite

IN THIS ISSUE a pilsen night with akito tsuda

“Welcome back, welcome back!” thea smith........................................3 sunken histories

“The diving keeps the reading interesting, and vice versa.” lewis page..........................................5 opinion: the waiting game

“Turning a reasonable commute in a big city into much more of an ordeal.” daniel kay hertz..............................6 sounding off on re:sound

The Sundance Film Festival of the audio world. leah menzer......................................8 the depths of emily dickinson

The work displays Dickinson’s wit as well as her rebellion. nicole bond.......................................9

OUR WEBSITE S ON SOUTHSIDEWEEKLY.COM SSW Radio soundcloud.com/south-side-weekly-radio WHPK 88.5 FM Tuesdays, 3pm–4pm Email Edition southsideweekly.com/email

Support the Weekly southsideweekly.com/donate

The Weekly is seeking submissions for our

Holiday Issue Email editor@southsideweekly. com with your holiday memories and traditions, in the form of a story, poem, or family recipe!

2 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ NOVEMBER 15, 2017


VISUAL ARTS

A Pilsen Night with Akito Tsuda The Japanese photographer celebrates his homecoming BY THEA SMITH

W

hen I visited La Catrina Café last Saturday night, my view of the commotion inside was at first restricted by the lines of condensation on a large window. I stepped closer to inspect the crowd: books held to their chests, they shuffled eagerly around a busy table. As they came and went, I caught a glimpse of one small figure, bent over slightly, signing a copy of his book. It was Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda. He looked up at and I noticed his smile, one that encompassed the entirety of his face. I entered the venue, and Latin music wrapped around me, ushering me

inside to a gracious assembly of Pilsen locals. The café was entirely emptied of furniture and instead filled with people who slowly circled the room with eyes leisurely sliding from photograph to photograph. Lines of children weaved between the adults, holding hands as they passed under the friendly conversations of their parents and grandparents. I could overhear exclamations of recognition as people saw their friends and families captured as works of art on the wall. “That’s me!” one woman said, pointing to a portrait of a young girl. “I remember that day!” The atmosphere was

overwhelmingly one of nostalgia, as the Pilsen community gathered to celebrate not only the photography, but also the subject of the photography: themselves. Born in Hamamatsu, Japan, Akito Tsuda came to Winnetka, Illinois in 1989 on a work visa. He then moved to Chicago in 1990 to study photography at Columbia College. He stumbled across Pilsen while working on a class project, and slowly forged an intercultural bond with the Latinx locals as he captured their daily lives in his documentary-style work. The subjects of his black and white photography ranged from

cliques of Mexican-American children to lone vagrants. His collection contributed to the historical record of the height of Pilsen’s Latinx culture in the nineties. Tsuda’s current stay in Pilsen is even more impactful, taking place during this time of gentrification and cultural erasure. To promote the release of his second book of photography, which celebrates the vibrancy of the Latinx community, Tsuda again chose Pilsen’s La Catrina Café for the opening of an exhibition of his work. As the music subsided, Ilene Palacios, a co-manager of Cultura in Pilsen, addressed

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3


VISUAL ARTS

the crowd before Tsuda’s speech. She spoke about her organization, which is a community and arts space currently residing in La Catrina Café and hosting exhibits and workshops for Latinx artists. Tsuda truly “had a yearning to come back” to Pilsen, Palacios told me. One year ago, he began independently sharing his photographs on Facebook. Due to an overwhelmingly positive reception, he then published them in a second edition of his book, entitled Pilsen Days. Palacios knew she wanted Cultura to host his opening exhibition and book release, along with the help of Columbia College, Tsuda’s alma mater. Tsuda’s photography is not just a part of the lives of Pilsen locals, it is the life of Pilsen. It captures the Latinx community that created for itself a thriving cultural space in the heart of the West Side. Cultura works to make this kind of work more accessible, and garner a sense of connection between the neighborhood of Pilsen and the art that grows out of it. Following Palacios, Tsuda climbed onto the small stage while yells of his name came from members of the crowd, old friends and classmates who had come to support his work. He lifted the microphone shyly to his lips and simply chuckled at his lack of words, overcome by such a warm welcome back. “Thank you so much…” he said, letting his clipped sentences trail off as he lost his voice to his emotions. One man began yelling, “Bravo!” and the crowd broke out into a second round of applause that seemed to imbue him with some strength to speak. Tsuda began talking, quietly, of the story of his life. Undeniably uncomfortable being the center of attention, he said, “You may think I’m good at talking to people, but I am very bad.” He explained that he first came to Chicago in the nineties to pursue a photography degree at Columbia College, yet spoke little to no English and knew no one. During his second year, he began a project that brought him to Pilsen. “I don’t know what to do,” he recalled. “I just started having a camera. I didn’t know it was called Pilsen. I just started working.” He began pointing to a handful of his photographs, even identifying in them one of his good friends, Peter. He drew the focus toward the community that he grew to love more than himself, emphasizing the role that the people in the room played in his art and its success. When he worked in Pilsen, he said, “Everyone accepted me. People still 4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Selected photographs from Akito Tsuda’s Pilsen Days.

accept me. They didn’t care. Peter used to call me chino chino!” Tsuda shared how he was dependent upon the support of the community to push himself further in his work. At first, he said, he wanted just to satisfy his own ego— competing with his classmates and lacking a clear purpose. Then, he discovered Pilsen: “This is proof that I could work.” Pilsen reminded him of his childhood, as he observed the strong familial bonds that served as the foundation of the neighborhood at large. He pointed to a picture in the back of the room. It was of a family of four, squeezed together on a couch, beneath their laundry hanging on a wire. Tsuda indeed found a family of his own in Pilsen, one built upon unconditional acceptance. And this family is what he photographed. “I have a responsibility to take a picture,” he said, ending his speech with the driving force behind his passion. He found a purpose not just in Pilsen, but also through the people that inhabited it. As Tsuda wrapped up his talk, someone yelled boisterously: “Welcome back, welcome back!” Others followed with whistles, shouts, and a great amount of applause as he stepped down from the stage. Immediately, a mass of old friends and locals swarmed him as they shared their stories and gave him an endless string of handshakes and embraces. And as I was jostled slowly to the edge

¬ NOVEMBER 15, 2017

of the room by the growing ring of people around him, I caught again a gap in the commotion and spotted Tsuda with his arms around old friends. Yet this time, his broad smile appeared not just to overwhelm his face, but imbue his entire narrow frame with a glow of gratitude that could only come from finally, after twenty-five years, returning home. ¬ Akito Tsuda, Pilsen Days. $50. 184 pages. culturainpilsen.com/pilsen-days-book


HISTORY

Sunken Histories

The Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago tells the stories of Lake Michigan’s shipwrecks BY LEWIS PAGE

O

n Saturday, September 29, 1906, the Great Lakes were struck with a gale. That same day, the barge, Car Ferry No. 2 was carrying twenty-eight railroad cars of iron ore and cedar telegraph poles from Peshtigo, Wisconsin to South Chicago. As the barge neared Chicago’s port, waves began to break over the barge and water made its way into the hold. Otto C. Olson, captain of the ship, threw down an anchor, and began to pump out the water. But the iron ore was too heavy. The ship flipped. Now, more than a hundred years later, a group of Chicagoans have come together to tell the story of this shipwreck and the many others in Lake Michigan. The Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago (UASC) meets on the last Wednesday of every month in the Chicago Maritime Museum (located since its opening in June 2016 on the lower levels of the Bridgeport Art Center). The trappings are modest: a podium, rows of folding chairs, a few snacks laid out on a folding table. The mission, though, is ambitious: to unearth (or more aptly, dredge up) and preserve stories of Lake Michigan shipwrecks like that of Car Ferry No. 2 and its crew.

COURTESY OF UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGO

Chicago and Lake Michigan aren’t the first places the uninitiated might associate with the word “shipwreck”: the South Pacific, maybe, or the Caribbean come to mind. But Chicago was once a major shipping hub: in its 1872 heyday, the number of ships arriving and leaving the Port of Chicago eclipsed any other port in North America, rivaling international strongholds like Hamburg and London. And where there are ships, there are shipwrecks. Of the estimated 6,000 maritime disasters on the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan was the site of nearly 1,500. Other ships were purposefully sunk (“scuttled”) as a means of disposal. Both kinds of wrecks litter the lake. Members of the UASC are volunteers with an avocational interest in these wrecks and their history. Most of them are scuba divers too and like to dive down to the old shipwreck sites to investigate: take pictures and video, draw and scan with sonar. The UASC holds trainings to bring surveying skills up to the Nautical Archaeological Society’s standards—they recently held a class on underwater illustration. Then, together, the society compiles their findings into an official report, where the technical surveying skills sit side by side with their

archival and historical research. Last year, they published one on the Car Ferry, a slim white volume titled “Project Report for the Avocational Archaeological Survey of the Railroad Car Ferry Number 2.” Sam Polonetzky, UASC member and former coordinating engineer for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation, hasn’t gone diving much lately: “Ever since I retired, I’ve been too busy,” he said. He’s been volunteering avidly at the Illinois Railway Museum. But he’s managed to stay involved with the UASC, undertaking much of the archival research for the Car Ferry report, where his railway expertise helped him uncover that the use of the car ferry, instead of a railway, to transfer its cargo was an attempt to physically bypass a conflict of corporate interest in the form of a rail transfer station operated by Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel Corporation. At the monthly meeting, after the socializing and hors d’oeuvres from 6:30pm –7pm, Polonetzky sits in the back row of folding chairs (“So I can get up to keep myself from talking if things get too heated”). At 7pm, the UASC gets down to business. They handle the usual concerns of a small organization: balancing budgets, getting

new members, electing new leadership, figuring out what projects to move forward and what conferences to attend. After the business section, there’s a presentation on a topic of interest. Sometimes it’s a guest (an expert or an author interested in Great Lakes maritime history) but this time it’s a member, Tony Kiefer, who takes the podium to present an old whodunit. He reads along to a video, which was edited together in 2000, to explain the story of the Zion Mystery Ship. His speech matches pace with the video, the music and images synchronizing with the dramatic reveals and plot twists, of which there are plenty. Seventeen years of practice with this presentation has paid off. Kiefer guides the audience from the section of the Illinois Beach State Park in far north suburban Zion, down to the ship, submerged 400 feet out and twelve feet deep. The ship is a mystery because of its odd combination of traits: square nails (indicating the nineteenth century), but a propeller shaft (implying the twentieth century), a copper-plated hull (characteristic of an oceangoing vessel), a wood body, but with steel bulkheads. What was it? A minesweeper? Pleasure yacht? Fishing boat?

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5


HISTORY

The ship, it turns out, was a subchaser, a rare breed. Subchasers were built during World War I as an answer to German U-boats. Steel was needed for larger ships: wooden subchasers could be produced fast and cheap in smaller shipyards. An aerial photograph from 1937 of the beach, obtained by mail order, provides the centerpiece for the presentation’s climax, where all the clues come together and the ship’s identity is revealed. Through a series of stills, music swelling, we zoom in on the small, x-shaped black blur. It’s the ship, revealed after as much suspense as any crime show. Steve Arnam interrupts from his folding chair in the back row. “That used to be a surf spot,” he says. “We called it ‘surfing the x.’” Despite the late October chill, Arnam, a retired Chiago Public Schools teacher and self-professed “marine biologist by trade,” is dressed as if prepared for a summer surf session at “the x:” bright blue board shorts, earrings, a T-shirt with a picture of Lake Michigan and the logo of the “Southend Surf Club,” a calf tattoo of a seahorse, and a pair of bright blue plastic-rimmed glasses that sit perched between his eyebrows and his thinned mess of long blond hair. Arnam learned to dive in warmer climes. He lived in the South Pacific, exploring shipwrecks from World War II and surfing. Jim Jarecki, another UASC member, learned to dive while in Mexico. He lied about his certification level and learned, sink-or-swim. He always thought he would be a “vacation diver,” like many are, until he found the UASC. Lake Michigan is not the Pacific; for many months of the year, the water is too cold to dive. But Chicago winters have their advantages too, for scholarship if not for diving. UASC member Tom Palmisano spends the indoor months reading about the history of shipping on the Great Lakes. The diving keeps the reading interesting, and vice versa. Long winters, ample libraries, and a lack of warm weather beachside distractions lend themselves to the laborious archival research that makes up a good part of the UASC’s work. They are, after all, not just a diving club; they’re an archaeological society. At the end of the meeting, after Kiefer’s presentation, the UASC screens a TV news segment about the 1991 vandalism of the Wells Burt, a ship that sank on May 21, 1883, en route from Buffalo to Chicago 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

with a load of coal. Silhouetted scuba divers reenact the thieves’ mischief. The members shake their heads. Kieth Pearson jokes that he’s the culprit: “What’s the statute of limitations on that again?” After the presentations are finished and the leftover hors d’oeuvres are packed, the Society adjourns to Ricobene’s, ordering pitchers of beer and plates of what one member affectionately calls “grease.” The conversation moves from old stories about college to old stories about ships. Jarecki, who holds a certificate in museum studies from the University of Chicago and is on the board of the Chicago Maritime Museum, is goaded into pulling out his party trick: he can name a historic event for almost any day of the calendar year. Then, the subject shifts to the contemporary: is it legal to remove zebra mussels from shipwrecks? The verdict: you need a permit. The exchange is a one-two punch of the changing times in the world of Great Lakes shipwreck exploration. Zebra mussels, Arnam explains, are an invasive species, which, these days, encrust every wreck. Regulations surround the wrecks too, more and more ever since Ronald Reagan put pen to paper to sign the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987 into law, giving ownership of all abandoned ships to the state in which they’re submerged. The pre-Act days are the Wild West era, when the draw was more about looting and less about the intangible appeal of history. Things have changed: “Most people started out diving to loot, and now do preservation,” says Arnam. The post-meeting Ricobene’s session wraps up; the pitchers are finished, and the members go home. But the Society’s work isn’t finished—their current project is a ship they call the “Mystery Wreck” (aren’t they all?), which lies seven miles north of Hammond, Indiana. They’re not sure what it is, and they haven’t seen one like it before. It looks like it’s a wooden boat from the nineteenth century, but there’s no indication of sail or mechanical power. It might be a barge. Dean Nolan, the sitting president of the UASC, hopes that, when they figure it all out, they’ll publish a report. But for now, it’s another of the UASC’s maritime mysteries waiting to be dredged up. ¬ The Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago meets on the last Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm-9pm at 1200 W. 35th St. Ste. OE5010. Meetings are free and open to the public; membership is $40.

¬ NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Opinion: The Waiting Game

Long wait times keep down ridership on the Green Line branches BY DANIEL KAY HERTZ

I

f you lived in Pilsen in 2005 and wanted to get to the Loop, you might have walked to the 18th Street station and waited. And waited. And waited. At the time, 18th Street was part of the Blue Line’s Cermak branch. Similarly to how the current-day Green Line splits at the Garfield Boulevard station, Blue Line trains coming into the city from O’Hare would turn west from downtown, and then hit a fork at Racine. Half would continue on in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway towards Forest Park, and half would turn south onto the elevated tracks towards 54th/Cermak. That meant that on each of the West Side branches, there were only half as many trains as on the O’Hare branch on the Northwest Side. And that meant waiting. A Blue Line commuter in Wicker Park in 2005 could expect a train to come every seven or eight minutes at rush hour. But in Pilsen or Little Village or Lawndale, schedules called for trains every twelve to fifteen minutes. And at less busy times— evenings or weekends—they might have been as much as twenty minutes apart. In 2006, the CTA created the Pink Line from the Cermak branch, which allowed frequencies to increase dramatically. Today, rush hour trains are scheduled at 18th Street about as often as they came to Wicker Park in 2005. Unsurprisingly, riders have responded: while the eleven stations that made up the Cermak branch saw about 3.2 million people enter their turnstiles in 2005, that number was up to 5.2 million by 2016. But on today’s South Side, the branching problem that used to haunt the West Side still exists. Heading South from Garfield Boulevard, the Green Line splits into two spurs that head east and west along 63rd Street. And that means

residents of Woodlawn and Englewood are still playing a waiting game. While headways (the time between trains) at rush hour are eight minutes on the Pink Line and as low as two minutes on the busy Red Line, passengers at the King Drive, Cottage Grove, Halsted, and Ashland Green Line stations must budget as much as fifteen minutes of waiting on their platform. And outside of rush hour, headways stretch up to twenty minutes. As a consequence, all four stations on the Green Line branches have very low ridership—even though the neighborhoods around both branches have population densities at or above the citywide average, are close to major anchor institutions (the University of Chicago and Kennedy-King College), and offer transfers to some of the city’s most-used bus lines. Cottage Grove and Ashland/63rd, each at around 1,200 boardings a day, see fewer passengers than every other terminal in the system except for distant, suburban Linden on the Purple Line. Halsted and King Drive, for their part, rank 144th and 145th for ridership—out of the L’s 146 stations. Nationally, transportation experts tend to agree that somewhere between twelve and fifteen minutes, a transit service ceases to be “show-up-and-go,” and forces riders to time the beginning of their trip according to a schedule. But many CTA riders—particularly on the South Side— use a bus to get to the train, meaning that they can’t plan for a short wait when they transfer. The waits add substantial time to what is otherwise a quick trip. Once a train leaves the Ashland/63rd station in West Englewood, it takes barely half an hour to reach the Loop, creating an important link between a neighborhood that has suffered


TRANSPORTATION

LIZZIE SMITH

years of disinvestment and North America’s second-largest job center. But the long waits for a train mean that riders need to budget as much as fifty minutes, not thirty, to actually make the journey—turning a reasonable commute in a big city into much more of an ordeal. The problem is so bad that it is sometimes faster for a person going downtown from the Ashland/63rd station to take the bus four miles north and transfer to the Orange Line than to wait for the next Green Line train. In many ways, too, the wait time is worse than more frequent, but slower, trains: Studies show that riders strongly prefer an extra minute of travel to an extra minute of waiting for a train or bus to show up. That preference is likely to be even stronger in Chicago, with above-ground stations open to often unpleasant weather. This year, the City of Chicago has announced two major overhauls of two South Side Green Line stations: Garfield, the last stop before the tracks split; and Cottage Grove, the terminal of the Woodlawn branch. The renovations and reconstruction at the Garfield stop alone will cost $50 million. At the same time, a social media campaign has emerged aimed

at restoring the last mile of the Woodlawn branch, which ran from Cottage Grove to Stony Island and was torn down as part of a complete overhaul of the Green Line in the mid-1990s. That extension would bring it within a block of the proposed Obama Presidential Center, a major activity and job center. But without addressing the waiting problem, these projects miss an opportunity to address the biggest impediment to highquality service on the Green Line’s 63rd Street branches—and will likely fail to attract significant new ridership. So what can be done? Since each branch has only two stations, it doesn’t make sense to create a whole new service, the way the CTA transformed the Cermak branch into the Pink Line. But the CTA could create a sort of shuttle service that would have a similar effect. Here’s how it would work: Instead of switching off between the Englewood and Woodlawn branches, all regular Green Line trains would just use one branch, going either from the Loop to Woodlawn or from the Loop to Englewood. That would bring headways on that branch up to normal levels for the rest of the line—seven or eight minutes at rush hour, and ten minutes most

of the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the other branch would get a “shuttle” train that ran between the terminal and Garfield, where passengers could transfer to the regular Green Line. With identical headways on both branches, the shuttle could be timed to arrive at Garfield to allow transfers with minimal delay, and then head back to its southern terminal. One impediment to this sort of service is that it may be difficult for the shuttle to turn around at Garfield without interfering with regular Green Line trains. But with the planned redesign of the Garfield station, officials could chose to solve this problem by rearranging the tracks to make such turnarounds possible. Whether the city implements a shuttle service or some other arrangement, until they do so, the city is squandering a valuable resource in those four South Side Green Line stations by running infrequent service to them—and residents of Englewood, West Englewood, and Woodlawn, as well as neighborhoods with bus service that connect to those stations, are missing out on what could be first-class transit access to downtown and the rest of the city.

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7


STAGE & SCREEN

Sounding Off on Re:sound A review of Third Coast International Audio Festival’s Live Show BY LEAH MENZER

O

n Thursday, November 9, The Third Coast International Audio Festival [(TCIAF)] presented Re:sound LIVE! curated by The Fest, was live at Thalia Hall. TCIAF is the “Sundance Film Festival” of the audio world. It holds an annual conference, bringing over 800 producers to a weekend of panels, talks, and award presentations. It also puts out a weekly, hour long radio show, called Re:sound. As the name would suggest, TCIAF is based out of Chicago. The nonprofit organization started as a project of WBEZ over a decade ago, and eventually broke off to become its own entity in 2009. Re:sound’s customary introduction, enunciated by host, Gwen Macsai, explains the show well: “Re:sound is a remix. Of music, documentaries, found sound, sound bites, and beautiful stories we find all over the world. We listen to everything we can get our ears on then bring you the best of what we hear, each week.” This live show was only the second or third live version that Re:sound has done, depending on if you count “Re:sound deconstruction” by Katie Mingle (now of 99% Invisible) in 2015 at The Hideout, according to Artistic Associate at TCIAF Maya Goldberg-Safir. This year’s live Re:sound show was part of “The Fest,” a two-week-long curated series overlapping with the Third Coast Conference itself. It brought hot audio programs like PRX’s Reveal, WNYC’s WHY OH WHY, and NPR’s Code Switch, Longform, and Love + Radio to Chicago, made even hotter with one-off guests like Chicago’s Eve Ewing and comedian Hari Kondabolu. Re:sound LIVE! had a strong showing of performances. Gwen Macsai, who has only had her voice recognized in the grocery store “two or three times...it’s really weird,” shone brightly as a host. She delivered with panache. Each episode of Re:sound is organized around a theme, or an “anchor piece,” as 8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

The Neo-Futurists performing for Re:sound LIVE! at Thalia Hall COURTESY OF THE FEST

Macsai put it. For this show the anchor piece was on Macsai’s own experience as a performative medical patient, who bares it all for doctors in training. The piece employed over eight different euphemisms for her “cooter,” and set the stage for the theme “Things I’ve Never Shared Before.” Interstitial plays by the Neo-Futurists tangoed with the concepts of audio, voice, and words. There were a few times when the Neos seemed to forget their lines, but I will give them the benefit of their experimental pedigree and consider it an artistic choice done on purpose. Chicago-based Colombian Univision reporter Adriana Cardona-Maguigad gave an energetic performance with a nuanced use of sound clips from her life, telling the story of coming to the United States as a high schooler to learn English. Her writing was strong and her persona was affable; it would be a treat to hear more audio pieces from her in the future. Phoebe Judge, of Radiotopia’s Criminal,

¬ NOVEMBER 15, 2017

dug deep into her own standoffish charm and wove anecdotes involving her time as the lone young reporter covering the Mississippi Gulf for public radio, where she “only had two friends” and “lived in a house next to the train tracks.” Her piece had a curmudgeonly wisdom that compared favorably to David Sedaris’s personal essays for radio. At around the hour mark of the show, there was a fourth wall–breaking piece that had strangers looking into one another’s eyes, with the house lights up, and reading from a script that was in the program. I personally had drunk too much caffeine to make eye contact with anyone, so I sat quietly with my eyes closed, but the crowded house of fans and fresh-eyed producers in town for the festival starting the next morning seemed to love it. The final piece of the night, “The Return of the Purple Hotel,” featured the return of Gwen Macsai, this time, presenting in tandem with Roman Mars

(of 99% Invisible). This sprawling piece was a redux of a story collaboration that Mars and Macsai had done for 99% Invisible in 2012. Macsai wove the story of her architect father, John Macsai, and his controversial “Purple Hotel” that once stood at 4500 West Touhy Avenue. This version of the story was colored by recent grief, as John Macsai passed away this past summer. The story swooped everywhere: from Michael Jordan, to a full eulogy, to a wartime Holocaust connection between Mars and Macsai’s grandfathers. It was effective—and intimate. Live radio shows of this kind are a new trend of the last five years, according to Macsai. “I think Ira [Glass, of This American Life] started it as usual, as he starts everything,” she said, humbly, yet on a firstname basis with one of America’s most wellknown radio figures. “Everyone is doing live shows because it’s just great publicity, and it’s fun to do,” she said. “It’s good all the way around.” ¬


EVENTS

The Depths of Emily Dickinson

BULLETIN

A cooperative market organized by ChiResists, La Cultura Cura promises to restore, heal, and uplift Black, brown, and indigenous artists. Find botanical supplies, zines, art, reclaimed copper jewelry, and more; contribute to ChiResists’ organizing fund and show support for a local and sustainable model. (Emeline Posner)

Wasted Market: VISION Plant Chicago, 1400 W. 46th St. Thursday, November 16, 6pm–8:30pm. RSVP at wastedmarket.org/vision. Free. (773) 8475523. What happens to leftover materials when buildings are demolished? VISION and its panelists sought to answer the question. Now, they want to discuss the local and regional future of a reuse marketplace of building materials. Guests will have a chance to brainstorm ideas for future development. (Yunhan Wen)

Kate Fry gives the poet new life BY NICOLE BOND

W

hatever you think you know about Emily Dickinson will either be confirmed or completely recalculated after seeing the Court Theatre production of The Belle of Amherst, playing now through December 3. Playwright William Luce captures Dickinson’s mood and thought processes, nearly one hundred years after her death, with his purposefully meandering 1976 script. Rather than follow a linear timeline, the story takes the audience on a series of adventures—or, sometimes, misadventures—from different points in Dickinson’s life. Over the course of a day, while Dickinson bakes her favorite black cake, she recollects memory after memory, each lending itself to the next. Kate Fry, who plays Emily Dickinson, brilliantly gives the poet life, pulling in the audience immediately with a subtle peek through the fourth wall. She acknowledges we are in fact present, giving an informal invitation of sorts into her home. Once inside, we become readers of her poetry by sharing in her dayto-day intricate family dynamics, the gossip of neighbors, the pain of unrequited love, her work’s rejection by an esteemed critic, and even a few favorite baking recipes. Sometimes we are given the information by ordinary dialogue, but often the stories are woven together from the words from Dickinson’s actual poems. Fry not only carries the whole show— she is the whole show. Except for one brief intermission, Fry alone commands the stage the entire production. Even as the audience

knows it is watching a one-woman show, Fry is so expert in her craft that there are moments when it is within reason to expect Dickinson’s sister, father, or any other person from her life to bolt down the stairs or in through the front door. The work displays Dickinson’s wit as well as her rebellion, and cloaks her reclusive nature in power rather than shrouding it in pity. The play contemplates the roles, choices, and belief systems available for women in nineteenth-century Massachusetts, leaving room to quietly consider how Dickinson’s work as a poet may have flourished during her lifetime had she been a man like her contemporary Walt Whitman. Anyone already a fan of Emily Dickinson—appreciating her love for words, her say-it-like-she-saw-it poetry, and her choice to make choices different from the ones offered to the women of her time— will leave the production an even bigger fan. Anyone not previously a Dickinson fan— perhaps considering her a sullen spinster sitting in her room all day writing poems to stuff in a chest—will see demonstrations of her passion for life, her childlike wonder, her hints about the depths of the different loves of her life, and, most assuredly, her commitment and dedication to her work. Who knows, fandom may rise in you, like the sun—one ribbon at a time. ¬ Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Through December 3. $25–$68, discounts available for seniors, students, faculty, and groups. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org

S.E.T.U.P Your Network Robust Coffee Lounge, 6300 S. Woodlawn Ave. Thursday, November 16, 6pm–7:30pm. $5. bit.ly/SETUPNetwork No more writing delicate emails for a coffee meeting that lasts for ten minutes, after you waited for five. Here is an endof-the-year networking opportunity that gets straight to the point—S.E.T.U.P Your Network connects you with a group of fascinating professionals and entrepreneurs from various industries. (Yunhan Wen)

Curious City: Building Interracial Relationships in the Muslim Community Auditorium, American Islamic College, 640 W. Irving Park Rd. Thursday, November 16, 7pm–8:30pm. Free. bit.ly/InterracialMuslims Islam is one of the most diverse religions, a diversity which sometimes leads to tension. How should Chicago’s diverse Muslim communities transcend differences at a time when divisions are highlighted and taken advantage of? A panel of four Chicago-based Muslim leaders will lead the discussion. (Yunhan Wen)

La Cultura Cura: Cooperative Market in Pilsen La Catrina Café, 1011 W. 18th St. Friday, November 17, 6pm–10pm; Saturday, December 9, 2pm–10pm. (312) 473-0038. bit.ly/LaCulturaCura

R.A.G.E. Last Bi-Monthly Village Meeting Johnson College Prep, 6350 S. Stewart Ave. Tuesday, November 21, 6pm–8pm. (866) 845-1032. ragenglewood.org R.A.G.E invites Englewood residents and visitors to join their last bi-monthly village meetings of the year. Show up for information on R.A.G.E’s current projects, important community news, and a chance to talk and connect with other concerned residents. Refreshments will be served. (Yunhan Wen)

Story Club South Side: FEAST Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Tuesday, November 21. 8pm–9:30pm, with a free workshop at 6:30pm and open-mic signup at 7:30pm. $5 in advance, $10 at the door. storyclubchicago.com Instead of the usual eight-minute-long open-mic stories in the Bridgeport art gallery/radio station space, Story Club South Side is giving everyone five minutes to talk about community issues at a potluck. Don’t worry, there will still be two talented featured performers, Kay “KT” Thompson and Andrew Marikis, as well as a bar to drown out any stage fright. ( Joseph S. Pete)

The Pre-Thanksgiving Skate Jam The Rink, 1122 E. 87th St. Wednesday, November 22, 9pm–midnight. $10. Skate rental included. idlskatejam@gmail.com. Tickets at bit.ly/SkateJam The night before Thanksgiving, the Iota Delta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., is hosting its annual skate jam and fundraiser. The brothers ask that you also bring non-perishable food items to be donated to a local food pantry. (Rachel Kim)

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9


Giving Tuesday: Rewrite the Narrative with Donda’s House Virgin Hotels Chicago, 203 N. Wabash Ave. Tuesday, November 28, 6pm–8pm. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 at the door. (773) 305-4064. bit.ly/DondasHouse The local arts-focused nonprofit Donda’s House is hosting a fundraising social to discuss reclaiming narratives of low-income communities and youth of color on the South Side. The event promises food, drinks, and exclusive announcements regarding its new home, partner, and upcoming event with a Chicago hip-hop legend. We can only hope it’s Kanye. (Rachel Kim)

VISUAL ARTS YCA On The Block: Pilsen La Catrina Café, 1011 W. 18th St. Through December 1. Fridays, 6pm–8pm. Free. In collaboration with Yollocalli Arts Reach and La Catrina Café, Young Chicago Authors will be hosting free open mics and workshops every Friday. Come through and learn how to write poems and hear others perform. (Roderick Sawyer)

Folk Art of Mexico: Alebrijes of Oaxaca Workshop Blackstone Library, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave. Saturday, November 11, 2pm–4pm. Free. Children 10 and up. Registration required. (312) 747-0511. chipublib.org/blackstone Join the Blackstone Library as they welcome Oaxacan artist Carlos Orozco for a workshop on the traditional Oaxacan art form of alebrijes. Also known as Mexican folk art, alebrijes are colorful carved wooden animals. Orozco will present the history of alebrijes, and participants will be able to paint their own wooden animals. (Roderick Sawyer)

7th Annual Beautiful Coffins Show The Surreal Rabbit, 2059 W. 18th St. Friday, November 17, 6pm–10pm. Free. (312) 2852795. facebook.com/surrealrabbit Every year, at the behest of the all-woman art collective Mujeres Mutantes, painters, poets, artists and other community members can decorate fifty handcrafted mini coffins 10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

to honor loved ones in a celebration of both Dia de Los Muertos and Halloween. This year’s theme is the number seven and the search for truth. ( Joseph S. Pete)

Alejandro Cesarco at the Renaissance Society The Renaissance Society, 5811 S. Ellis Ave. (Cobb Hall, 4th floor). Saturday, November 18, 5pm–8pm, artist talk at 6pm. Free. Exhibit through January 28, 2018. (773) 834-8049. renaissancesociety.org The Renaissance Society presents a conversation and an exhibition with artist Alejandro Cesarco. Cesarco’s newly commissioned work combines video, sound, and photography as an exploration of elements such as time, memory, and meaning. Cesarco will lead a conversation on his work starting at 6pm. (Roderick Sawyer)

Self-Care Sip and Paint South Side Community Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Saturday, November 18, 2pm–5pm. 21+, BYOB/W. Doors 2pm, class 2:30pm. $25 early bird, $30 general admission. bit.ly/SelfCareSipAndPaint Join artist Dionne Victoria for a self-care session using painting as a tool to express self-love. The session begins with a tour of the Black Love Matters!™ Exhibition and a class offering basic instructions will follow. Take the Saturday afternoon to relax, express, and love. (Yunhan Wen)

Backyard Series III 2733 W. 37th Pl. Saturday, November 18, 8pm–11pm. BYOB. $3 minimum. bit.ly/Backyard3 The Verbs and Vibes Co. brings us the third installment of the Backyard Series, inviting the prolific poet and performer Bonafide Rojas to share his work in addition to the usual open mic. Rojas has most recently published Notes On The Return To The Island and Renovatio. (Yunhan Wen)

MUSIC Isaiah Sharkey The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West. Thursday, November 17, 8pm. $15 and up. 21+. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com

¬ NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Grammy award-winning songwriter, South Side legend, and guitarist extraordinaire Isaiah Sharkey is coming to The Promontory to celebrate the release of his debut album, Love.Life.Live. Come through to enjoy his idiosyncratic, finger-snapping style that mixes soul, R&B, rock, gospel, and jazz. (Michael Wasney)

The Dojo Presents: Queendom Come The Dojo, message on Facebook for address. Saturday, November 18, doors 8pm, workshop 8:30pm, music 9pm–1am. $5 donation. BYOB. thedojochi.com The queens in question at the Dojo next month will be Jovan Landry, Tee Spirit, Freddie Old Soul, DJ Gr-illa, and host for the night Fury Hip Hop. In perhaps less queenly but reliable fashion, F12 Network will be hosting a workshop again at 8:30pm, and nonprofit organization Activist In You will be vending throughout the night. ( Julia Aizuss)

Zine Not Dead VII: A New Comics Reading and Chicago Art Book Fair After-Party Archer Ballroom, 3012 S. Archer Ave. 3rd floor. Saturday, November 18, 8pm. $5–$10 (“slithering” scale admission comes with poster and mystery prize). perfectly-acceptable.com Love losing yourself in the latest graphic novels? Comic book artists like Aaron Renier, Bianca Xunise, Xia Gordon, Molly Colleen O’Connell, and Elevator Teeth will give readings of their new comics. Afterwards, catch music from the band Lilac and the Baltimore-based band Permanent Waves. ( Joseph S. Pete)

The Jeff Gibbs Quartet Reggies, 2015 S. State St. Friday, November 24, 8pm doors. 17+. $10–$25. (312) 9490120. reggieslive.com The Jeff Gibbs Quartet thinks that without music we would be “emotionless,” which is probably why they are also, apparently, “a chameleon to all types of music.” If you come to Reggies in a couple weeks, you’ll find out what music that means for saxophonist Jeff Gibbs, bassist James Carter, keyboard player Cleo Bryrd, and drummer DJ Abernathy—and what emotions you’ll feel. ( Julia Aizuss)

Marquis Hill The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West. Friday, November 24, 7pm doors, 8pm show. $15–$40. 21+. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com Chatham native Marquis Hill has been described by the New York Times as a “dauntingly skilled trumpeter” and the Tribune has said that “his music crystallizes the hard-hitting, hard-swinging spirit of Chicago jazz.” But even beyond Chicago jazz, his music incorporates elements of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, soul, blues, and even spoken word. For this tape release party for his new release Meditation, Hill will be joined onstage by Mike King on keyboard, Junius Paul on bass, and Makaya McCraven on drums, with guest DJ Jamal Science on MPC and J.P. Floyd as an opener. (Andrew Koski)

Twin Peaks, Knox Fortune, and Sun Cop Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Friday, December 29, doors 7pm, show 8pm. $25–$35. All ages. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com It’s a locals’ night at Thalia Hall, with three Chicago bands on display. Come to watch Sun Cop rise. Stay all night with Knox Fortune, of Chance the Rapper’s “All Night” fame. And in the end, come home with Twin Peaks of indie rock acclaim. (Lewis Page)

STAGE & SCREEN Making Space: 5 Women Changing the Face of Architecture Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. Thursday, November 16, 1:30pm–2:30pm. Free. (773) 324-5520. hydeparkart.org As part of HPAC’s Films Inspired by Architects/Architecture series, Making Space (2014) “captures the compelling stories and outstanding designs” of five female architects—Annabelle Selldorf, Farshid Moussavi, Odile Decq, Marianne McKenna, and Kathryn Gustafson. “Without script or narration, each woman tells her own story, enhanced by the insights of commentators.” Still not sold? In addition to the architectural experts, Meryl Streep will also make a special guest appearance onscreen. (Andrew Koski)


EVENTS

Black Cinema House Presents: Hav Plenty Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Friday, November 17, 7pm–9pm. (312) 8575561. rebuild-foundation.org Inspired by the life of its director, producer, writer, and editor Christopher Scott Cherot, “90s classic and indie gem” Hav Plenty tells the story of a struggling writer who attends the New Year’s Eve party of his wealthy crush. Come for the screening and a discussion of its themes, like depictions of Black love on screen. (Adia Robinson)

Rashomon University Church, 5655 S. University Ave. Friday, November 17-Saturday, November 18, 8pm; Sunday, November 19, 2pm. Advance tickets $12, $10 for students and seniors; tickets at the door $15, $12 for students and seniors. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org/tickets Taking on the classic Akira Kurosawa samurai film based on the short stories of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, the Hyde Park Community Players present their rendering of Rashomon. The story of a Japanese feudal murder trial told from multiple perspectives, this telling, written by Fay and Michael Kanin, promises to be “full of swordplay, music, and movement.” (Sam Stecklow)

No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks Pritzker Auditorium, Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18, 6:30pm; Sunday, November 19, 2pm. Free. (312) 747-4300. chipublib.org Eve Ewing and Nate Marshall’s No Blue Memories debuts at the Harold Washington Library. Puppet theater Manual Cinema stages the retelling of the famed South Side poet’s life with paper-cut puppetry, with music composed by Jamila Woods and Ayanna Woods to celebrate Poetry Day on November 17, a long-running tradition that was inaugurated by Robert Frost in 1955. ( Joseph S. Pete)

Meet Juan(ito) Doe Free Street Storyfront, 4346 S. Ashland Ave. Through Friday, December 15. Mondays and Fridays, 7:30pm. Free or pay-what-you-can; advance tickets starting at $5. (773) 7727248. freestreet.org

Free Street Theater’s latest play, created by multidisciplinary artist Ricardo Gamboa in collaboration with Ana Velasquez and “an ensemble of brown and down Chi-towners,” was supposed to close last week, but now that its run has been extended for a month. You have no excuse for missing out on this play based on the true stories and input of Back of the Yards residents—you won’t find anything like it anywhere else in the city. ( Julia Aizuss)

An Evening at Chez Nous Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Room 901. Saturday, November 18, 7pm. Free, RSVP encouraged at ticketsweb.uchicago.edu. (773) 702-8596. filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu For fifty years, the West Berlin cabaret Chez Nous was the place to be for drag— especially if you were Bronzeville native Marlow La Fantastique. Now retired and back in Bronzeville, she’ll be sharing stories of the famous dance club at this event, which will also feature clips of Chez Nous in film and revue and a recreation by Chicago dancer Darling Shear of Marlow’s fan dance. ( Julia Aizuss)

ticket secures unlimited servings of gumbo, complimentary beverages, and a raffle entry—you won’t want to pass this one up. (Emeline Posner)

Take Root Program for Vets Applications through Dec. 1. Free to apply, Military veterans only. (815) 389-8455. learngrowconnect.org/takeroot Military veterans who want to trade their arms for plowshares can learn the trade of sustainable farming at established farms across Chicagoland, including in Southeast Wisconsin. Those selected will receive training in organic production while working for an hourly wage, a yearlong membership to Upper Midwest CRAFT, and admission to the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in February. ( Joseph S. Pete)

Get Sliced! Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Friday, December 1, 7pm–11pm. $30 in advance, $40 at door. (773) 837-0145. coprosperity.org

It’s “frickin horribly hard” to make Lumpen Radio, Bridgeport’s beloved low-fi radio station. Fortunately, the folks at Lumpen have made it easier than ever to help you help them keep their “psychomagical” programs on the airwaves: with a local pizza–local media fundraiser. At the Get Sliced! benefit, a $30 ticket will get you a slice from every Bridgeport pizza joint and land you a spot on the pizza jury. (Emeline Posner)

Beginning Farmer of the Year Nomination Submission due by January 12 to Advocates for Urban Agriculture, info@auachicago.org. Details: bit.ly/FarmerOf208 New to sustainable farming, and want to share your accomplishments to date? The Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) wants to hear from you in the form of three-minute video submissions. All videos received will be posted on the AUA website and voted on by viewers. The winning submission will be nominated by AUA for a $1,000 prize. (Emeline Posner)

The Belle of Amherst Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Through Sunday, December 3. $25–$68, discounts available for seniors, students, faculty, and groups. (773) 753-4472. courttheatre.org Emily Dickinson could not stop for death, but you should stop by the UofC’s Court Theatre to see William Luce’s play about the revered poet’s reclusive life in Massachusetts. Kate Fry stars as the prolific Dickinson who “dwells in possibility” and famously characterized hope as a “feathered thing that perches in the soul.” ( Joseph S. Pete)

FOOD & LAND Gumbo Battle Benefit Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Friday, November 17, 7pm–10pm. $30. (773) 837-0145. coprosperity.org Who cooks up the finest gumbo bowl of them all? You have the opportunity to play the judge at the My Block, My Hood, My City benefit, where Chicago chefs led by Aninn Stewart will be participating in this “epic battle” to support the nonprofit. A

Join us for our pre-holiday tasting evening!

57th Street Wines 1448 E. 57th St. wines57.com 773–966–4883

Friday, November 17 5pm - 8pm wine tasting beer tasting spirits tasting snacks music neighbors (free; 21+) NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11


s s

ARTS FESTIVAL

Music + Market + Film + Food

v 24

Blackstone Bicycle Works

25 26

CONNECT South Shore is a three day festival of art, music + film, celebrating the South Shore community. Join us for live events, installations, pop up exhibitions and a vendor market perfect for holiday shopping. + 12p / 9p + 2100 E. 71st Live performance by Res at 4pm + 2100 E. 71st Vendors

Weekly Bike Sale Every Saturday at 12pm Wide selection of refurbished bikes! (most bikes are between $120 & $250)

+ 2100 E. 71st Dj Duane Powell 2-4:30

follow us at @blackstonebikes blackstonebikes.org

+ 1900-1908 E. 71st Pop-Up Art Galleries + 2226 E. 71st Film Fest Curation

Blackstone Bicycle Works is a bustling community bike shop that each year empowers over 200 boys and girls from Chicago’s south side—teaching them mechanical skills, job skills, business literacy and how to become responsible community members. In our year-round ‘earn and learn’ youth program, participants earn bicycles and accessories for their work in the shop. In addition, our youths receive after-school tutoring, mentoring, internships and externships, college and career advising, and scholarships.

+ 2226 E. 71st Friday night reception 6-9 with Dj Elbert Phillips Sponsored by:

Hours Tuesday - Friday 1pm - 6pm 12pm - 5pm Saturday

773 241 5458 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637

A PROGRAM OF

+ For more information

visit www.connectsouthshore.org


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.