Arts & Entertainment Recommendations

Getting Spooky!

Upside Down Halloween Parade

Chicago children and their families will BECOME the parade when they don their costumes and join the procession down tree-lined Russell Drive in Washington Park on October 22 from noon - 3 p.m. Dance teams, musicians, acrobats, sports mascots and other spectacles will dazzle them as they make their way down the route – and kids will receive a complimentary goody bag at the closing arches. Don’t worry if you don’t have a costume, Blommer Chocolate Company will be giving away thousands of complimentary costumes in a courtesy tent at the start of the route! The exhibition area just behind the closing arches will feature a free hot chocolate station and other treats, as well as a live DJ. The Upside Down Halloween Parade serves as the grand opening for Chicago’s Halloweek program and is presented by LUMA8 and the City of Chicago. Blommer Chocolate Company is the lead sponsor, with major support from William Blair.

Strike A Pose!

Chicago Fashion Week

FashionBar presents this season’s theme - IMPACT - Your identity can give fashion life. View the collections of various emerging, established and avant-garde designers to hit the runway at this season with multiple runway shows this week on the 3rd floor of Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave. Shows include: Business Wear 10/17 at 6 p.m.; Emerging Students 10/18 at 6 p.m.; Eco-Friendly 10/19 at 6 p.m.; Trans Media 10/20 at 6 p.m.; Modern & Ready-2-Wear 10/21 at 6 p.m.; Resort & Swimwear 10/22 at noon; Urban & Streetwear 10/22 at 5 p.m.; South Asian Wear 10/23 at noon; Evening Wear & Identity Show 10/23 at 4 p.m. The shows are two to three hours long. General admission tickets are $30 for each show at www.rebelity.com/EventDates/1100/chicago-fashion-weekpowered-by-fashionbar-llc-the-shows

Behind the Scenes!

Obama’s Speech Writer Cody Keenan

Barack Obama’s chief speechwriter Cody Keenan appears in conversation on his new book, “Grace,” at Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St. on October 24 from 6-7 p.m. “Grace” is the propulsive story of 10 days in June 2015, when Obama and Keenan composed a series of high-stakes speeches to meet a succession of stunning developments, when a hate-fueled massacre and looming Supreme Court's decisions put the character of our country on the line, and a president’s words could bring the nation together or tear it apart. Keenan takes readers inside the craft of speechwriting at the highest level for the most demanding of bosses, the relentlessly poetic and perfectionist Barack Obama. Visit chipublib.bibliocommons. com/events/62cf1d050685eb4200c6711c for more info on this free event.

Close to Heaven!

'Blue Heaven'

In Black Ensemble Theater's "Blue Heaven," four great blues legends -- Big Mama Thornton, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughn -- are sitting in a blues bar, reminiscing about their careers. They are waiting for the "new guy," B.B. King, to show up and they are eager to give him advice about meeting "The Boss." W.hat ensues is a blues concert that is heaven-sent. Performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 3 & 7 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. October 22-November 27 at 4450 N. Clark St. Tickets are $50+ at blackensembletheater.org or 773.769.4451.

Take A Stroll!

Uptown: A Community Bound by Differences Walking Tour

In the early 21st century, Uptown continues to be a hub for new arrivals to Chicago—and this mix of people continues to be a tremendous asset. Using a set of different locations around the community, this walking tour will show how art, culture and local businesses continue to be part of the ties that provide a diverse set of people meaningful ways to interact with each other. Urbanologist Max Grinnell guides this free event from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, hosted by Bezazian Branch Library. More info can be found at www.chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/6319f8b48ca4b42b008523d1

A Thousand Pardons, Milady!

‘Camelot’

Music Theater Works presents “Camelot” at the North Theatre in the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, October 20 - November 13. Return to the magic and majesty of Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical as it recounts the enduring legend of King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, Sir Lancelot and the other members of the Knights of the Round Table. Based on T.H. White’s novel “The Once and Future King,” audiences experience the story of King Arthur’s most trusted knight, Sir Lancelot, as Lancelot falls in love with Queen Guenevere. The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 1 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $39, half-price tickets for anyone 25 and younger at MusicTheaterWorks.com.

Classical Interpretations!

CSO MusicNOW: Perspectives

Marking both the start of the 25th season of CSO MusicNOW and its return to Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery and musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra unite to perform works by kindred spirits Alvin Singleton and Carlos Simon, at 7 p.m. Monday, October 24. Among the works featured are Singleton’s experimental and improvisational "Be Natural" for three bowed, stringed instruments and Simon’s whimsical and wildly syncopated "Lickety Split" for cello and piano. Though stylistically different, the program highlights the composers’ shared influences through their own unique lenses. Tickets start at $30 at cso.org.

Halloween Extravaganza!

‘House of the Exquisite Corpse’

Following last year’s spectacular debut, "House Of The Exquisite Corpse" has taken over Chopin Theater’s Main Stage with an expanded program of eight new immersive acts of original puppet horror! This unique experience beckons audiences to explore the tormented halls, peeping in on the otherworldly ills that plague each room. Through puppetry, physical performance, soundscape, and illusion, each room in the House of the Exquisite Corpse will horrify and mesmerize. Run time is 70 minutes. Ticketed entries begin at 7 p.m. and 15-minute intervals afterward at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. every Thursday - Saturday until November 5. Tickets are pay-what-you-want at roughhousetheater.com.

Modern Take On Renaissance Times!

‘Botticelli in the Fire’

First Floor Theater starts its 10th season with the Chicago premiere of Jordan Tannahill’s “Botticelli in the Fire,” a hot-blooded queering of Renaissance Italy that questions the value of art at the collapse of society. Playboy Sandro Botticelli has it all: talent, fame, good looks. He also has the ear – and the wife – of Lorenzo de Medici, as well as the Renaissance’s hottest young apprentice, Leonardo da Vinci. But while at work on his breakthrough commission, "The Birth of Venus," Botticelli’s devotion to pleasure and beauty is put to the ultimate test. As the plague sweeps through the city, the charismatic friar Savonarola starts to stoke the fires of dissent against the liberal elite. Botticelli finds the life he knows breaking terrifyingly apart, forcing him to choose between love and survival. The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. through November 5. Additional 8 p.m. performance Monday, October 24. $10 - $35 at firstfloortheater.com.