ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time.

To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to: Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org

Free Comics!

Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is the comic book industry’s largest annual promotion event. It is traditionally scheduled on the first Saturday of May each year. Due to COVID-19, the event was reorganized and has been taking place on Wednesdays throughout the summer. The last Free Comic Book Day will take place on September 9. In order to find your nearest comic book store, feel free to visit https://www.comicshoplocator.com/

Be the Change!

Climate Responsibility and Judaism

The critical nature of climate change hasn't paused amid the pandemic and efforts to address long standing social inequities. In many ways, these issues are linked. Join Spertus Institute for ViewPoints Online as two experts on religion and the environment delve into what Judaism teaches about our accountability to the natural world. Dr. Rachel Havrelock is founder and director of the UIC Freshwater Lab, a humanities-based initiative focused on research, teaching, and public awareness about the Great Lakes. She is a University of Illinois at Chicago and Spertus Institute faculty member. Rabbi Dr. Rachel Mikva (pictured) is the Herman E. Schaalman chair and associate professor of Jewish Studies, and senior faculty fellow of the InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. Her work focuses on biblical interpretations across time and place, and how they shape and reflect the societies in which they unfold.

The program will be held on Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 10. Tickets are $8 for students and Spertus alumni, $10 for Spertus members and $18 for the public at spertus.edu

Sounds of the World!

Virtual World Music Festival Chicago

The reimagined “Virtual World Music Festival Chicago” will offer a series of free concerts featuring artists from across the globe on Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. Highlights include:

• “People of Rhythm; Afro-Diáspora y Folklore” (September 13) recorded and co-curated with Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center;

• the Chicago-based traditional Irish supergroup Anam Mór (September 20) recorded at and co-curated with Martyrs’;

• and the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra (September 27) recorded at Epiphany Center for the Arts and coconducted by Fareed Haque and Wanees Zarour.

For the complete lineup and details, visit WorldMusicFestivalChicago.org. The virtual concert series will air on YouTube.com/ChicagoDCASE

#BuildBackBetter

Metropolitan Planning Council’s #BuildBackBetter

Metropolitan Planning Council honors one of its foremost corporate citizens, John Rogers of Ariel Investments, with the Champion Fighter Award. John’s extraordinary contributions as a corporate and civic leader have had a transformative impact on countless institutions. John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father began buying him stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. In 1983, John founded Ariel Investments to focus on patient, value investing within small- and medium-sized companies. John will be in conversation with Melody Spann Cooper, chairman of Midway Broadcasting Corporation. FREE. Registration by September 14 for the September 15 event is required at metroplanning.org

Learn Swedish!

Swedish Language Classes

The Swedish American Museum is offering Swedish language classes via Zoom. The classes are 14 weeks long starting on September 10 or September 15. The starting date is based on your language level. Four different levels are offered and the classes are 90 minutes long. The tuition is $210 for Museum members and $250 for non-Museum members. Additionally, the Museum has several events scheduled that are being held in small groups to abide by social distancing requirements. http:// swedishamericanmuseum.org/2.0/swedish-classes-2/

Opera at Home!

Opening night for Lyric Opera

For the Love of Lyric—a star-studded virtual concert, set to premiere at 6 p.m. Sunday, September 13. Audiences can look forward to familiar and revelatory selections from the worlds of opera, Broadway, popular music, and more, streamed free of charge on Lyric's YouTube and Facebook. Stay up to date with the latest information by RSVPing to the Facebook event or sign up to receive email reminders. The starry lineup is led by world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming and features special guests, including Tony Award® and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter/actress Heather Headley, soprano Ailyn Pérez, bass Soloman Howard, and mezzo-soprano and Ryan Opera Center alumna J'Nai Bridges, with Doug Peck serving as music director, as well as members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Ensemble and Chicago Children's Choir.

What You Do Matters!

U.S. Holocaust Museum ‘What You Do Matters” Fundraiser

The Chicago community will renew its pledge to ensure that the critical lessons of the Holocaust—lessons about the fragility of freedom, the nature of hate, and the consequences of indifference—help shape our nation’s way forward. The annual ‘W.hat You Do Matters’ Risa K. Lambert event—which historically attracts up to 2,500 Chicagoans in-person, including hundreds of Holocaust survivors—will feature special guests, inspiring stories, and important messages about the Museum’s role in these challenging times. September 15 at 12 p.m.; FREE with registration at ushmm.org

Outdoor Concerts!

Outback at North Shore Center

Outback Summer Sessions have turned the 31,000-square-foot parking lot at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts into a 200-person space for outdoor concerts. You can buy tickets in groups of two to six at northshorecenter.org; then, wear a mask, bring your own chairs and blankets, coolers, non-alcoholic beverage and food, or order from restaurants on-site. The North Shore Center is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. 7 p.m. Sat., September 11: “We’ve Only Just Begun” – Heidi Kettenring Sings Karen Carpenter Multi-award winner Kettenring starred as Nessrose in the blockbuster musical “Wicked” and Belle in “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” (National Tour). She lends her signature warmth to beloved hits “For All We Know,” “Superstar” and “Close to You.” Rain date: Sunday, September 12. 6 p.m. Sun. September 13: Chicago Philharmonic String Quartet “Romantic Strings.” Rain date: Mon. September 14. Founded 30 years ago, “Chicago Phil” is a collaboration of nearly 200 of the highest-level classical musicians performing in metro Chicago.