Around this time of the year you’ll begin to hear the phrase “the giving season.” It’s the moment when donation-dependent organizations ramp up their campaigns in the hopes of being included in the gifting air that comes in on a wind of mailers, calls, and fundraisers. For the Nonprofit Issue, we thought it would be […]

The post <i>Chicago Reader’s</i> Nonprofit Guide for 2023 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

1 Chicago stepping lessons from award-winning south sider Shaun Ballentine of Effortless Stepping. —Salem Collo-Julin Open group lessons Wednesdays at 7 PM, Effortless Stepping Studio, 1850 E. 79th. $20 per person, 21+ only. For private lesson rates or information about having Ballentine do a stepping class at your event, message through Instagram or Facebook.  2 […]

The post The <i>Reader</i>’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on Chicago Reader.

In July, I attended a community meeting at the Broadway Armory in Edgewater about the city’s plan to turn the Park District facility into a temporary shelter for asylum seekers. A group of protesters, angry that much of the armory’s programming would be relocated or otherwise disrupted, carried bright yellow signs reading “Don’t Displace Us.” […]

The post The <i>Reader</i>’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2023 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Just gather your nonsqueamish WLW friends and go see Bottoms immediately.

The post Review: <i>Bottoms</i> appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The following five profiles feature trans and genderqueer elders in Chicago as they reflect on identity and joy this Pride Month.

The post Trans elders are revolutionaries appeared first on Chicago Reader.

In my household, we’re currently celebrating “little treat” season. It occurs every year just as Chicago is shaking off the winter weather; on days when it’s extra sunny or unseasonably warm, my partner and I allow ourselves to go out and get a little treat. Now, “little treat” can mean anything from a shared iced […]

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The first time my girlfriend sent me a TikTok from @plateswithp, she said, “I don’t know why, but I trust everything she says.” I, too, became an immediate fan. Paige Serena started making food and lifestyle content on TikTok in 2022. Born in Chicago and raised in Milwaukee, she fell in love with Chicago’s food […]

The post Best ‘don’t go here, go there instead’ Chicago food TikToks appeared first on Chicago Reader.

On a cold November night, as the clock struck midnight and the movie theater lights dimmed, the audience broke into raucous, hooting-and-hollering applause, and I knew that movie-going etiquette was out the window. Sipping Mystery Machine Margaritas—the Music Box’s featured cocktail for the occasion—longtime fans of 2002’s cult classic Scooby-Doo watched with giddy anticipation as […]

The post Best midnight screening of an iconic early-2000s movie appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Chili crisp is a versatile, addicting, savory, and utterly delicious chunky sauce that understandably became a hit culinary trend in 2022. It’s most commonly made with a base of crushed red peppers and neutral oil and then loaded with an assortment of added spices and fried garlic or shallot for crunch. Once I heard of […]

The post Best new condiment obsession appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Indoor rock climbing has seen a huge surge in popularity in the last few years. It’s everywhere in places like California and Colorado, where white, wealthy, outdoorsy, granola people reign supreme, but it’s gaining popularity here in Chicago, too, especially after its appearance in the (delayed) 2020 Summer Olympics and because of its year-round accessibility […]

The post Best workout for unathletic queers appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Last July I wrote a Reader cover story, “Welcome to the skate park,” about OnWord, “a local skate crew that welcomes skaters of all ages and all abilities, prioritizing women, trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people, and anyone else who identifies as LGBTQ+.” As a queer beginner skater, I fit their target demographic, but even as […]

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Ballet 5:8 presents Beyond the Nutcracker, a take on Tchaikovsky with a twist: there’s no Clara, but instead we meet Emma, a young girl growing up in the shadow of WWII. Artistic director Julianna Rubio Slager’s choreography gets away from some of the problematic imagery in the Chinese dance by using the motif of the […]

The post <i>Beyond the Nutcracker</i>, Holiday Detour film series, and more appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Since 2010, the Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell) has hosted “Ground Floor,” a biennial exhibition featuring work by “Chicago’s most promising emerging talent.” The show is assembled by an esteemed panel of judges including curators, educators, and artists, and it features work from artists who’ve graduated from one of Chicago’s five MFA programs […]

The post ‘Ground Floor,’ movie trivia, and more appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Join Andersonville residents and celebrate the holidays the Swedish way, with St. Lucia and the Lucia Procession. Lucia girls, in white robes and candle crowns, were crowned at noon at the temporary Nordic House in the Wrigley building downtown. This afternoon a procession walks up Clark Street in Andersonville (starting at the Swedish American Museum, […]

The post Lucia walking, Manasseh at MCA, Secret History of Chicago Music in person appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Editor’s note Mon 12/12/22: the St. Lucia events previously posted below are scheduled for Tuesday 12/13/22. The Reader regrets our error. Join Andersonville residents and celebrate the holidays the Swedish way, with St. Lucia and the Lucia Procession. Lucia girls, in white robes and candle crowns, will be crowned at noon at the temporary Nordic […]

The post St. Lucia, go-go dancing, and Long Hair Don’t Care appeared first on Chicago Reader.

For one night only, catch a special screening of the I Didn’t See You There (2022) in the presence of director Reid Davenport. The award-winning disabled documentarian will attend the 6 PM screening of his film tonight at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State) and participate in a discussion moderated by disabled artist […]

The post <i>I Didn’t See You There</i>, <i>Priestess of Twerk</i>, and more appeared first on Chicago Reader.

These preview issues always remind me that things are happening in our city. … creating this jam-packed issue, which teases film screenings, book releases, art exhibitions, and more, I’m in no hurry to hunker down indoors and wait for winter—Chicago is calling.

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“When we go to a skate park, we take up space, and then all of a sudden you don’t see a bunch of guys trying to tell you to move out the way, ’cause we’re the majority now,” says Lid Madrid. “And we’re taking up space, and just changing the way that skate parks traditionally […]

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In this issue, you’ll find stories about trans creatives, LGBTQ+ community spaces, and drag performers; but you’ll also find an investigation and interview about electronic monitoring in policing. (Remember, the first Pride marches celebrated the Stonewall riots, a response to a violent police raid.) I want the colors on the cover of this Pride Issue to inspire people as they move through this month of June and promote true liberation.

The post This cover is for you appeared first on Chicago Reader.

If you’re looking for something to watch this Pride Month, there are better queer movies—and probably better gay porn—than can be found here.

The post <i>The Schoolmaster Games</i> feels like wasted potential appeared first on Chicago Reader.

An average spectator might observe a skateboarder as nothing but a person on wheels; they see an athlete—or a delinquent, maybe—pushing and coasting and jumping (“How does the board stick to the bottom of their feet?”), there one minute and gone the next. But from the rider’s perspective, the world is transforming around them. Minute […]

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“Eyeth—get it? In the Deaf storytelling tradition, utopia is called Eyeth because it’s a society that centers the eye, not the ear, like here on Earth.” That’s the opener to “Ear vs. Eye: Deaf Mythology,” one of the many brief lessons sprinkled between the chapters of Sara Nović’s realistic fiction novel True Biz, released March […]

The post True biz? There’s a lot to learn in Sara Nović’s new book. appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Are pigeons beautiful? Katie Prout thinks they might be, but she rarely stops to look.

The post A note on this week’s cover story appeared first on Chicago Reader.

It’s important to honor the classics, but I left the theater wondering what this $90 million project brought to the table compared to an inventive and contemporary whodunnit like 2019’s Knives Out.

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It has everything that we’ve come to expect from Wes Anderson—carefully crafted aesthetics, perfect color palettes, and intricate tableaux of actors.

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A look back at the love stories that started in the pages of the Reader, no swiping necessary

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A young person’s dive into the history of the once lucrative section and its humble future.

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1 hour 35 min

The post Luca appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The actor’s role in the onscreen adaptation hearkens back to his introduction to musical theater and time spent in New York City.

The post Corey Hawkins comes full circle with In the Heights appeared first on Chicago Reader.

After a delayed release, the vibrant film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical couldn’t be more welcome.

The post It’s officially summer with In the Heights appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Whether or not the scares make sense is up for debate.

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2 hours 22 min

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1 hour 53 min

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1 hour 34 min

The post A Week Away appeared first on Chicago Reader.

2020 was always going to be a historic year for cannabis in Illinois. The sale of recreational marijuana became legal across the state at the turn of the decade, all thanks to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) that Pritzker signed back in June of 2019. Despite some supply shortages, limited licenses, and opening […]

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2 hours 5 min

The post Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Support local secondhand shoppers without stepping foot outside.

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1 hour 47 min

The post Soul appeared first on Chicago Reader.

On the violence, sadness, and hope of 2020

The post A year like no other appeared first on Chicago Reader.

2 hours 10 min

The post The Prom appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Reader staffers on what holidays look like in 2020.

The post We’ll stay home for Christmas? appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Seven years after the show’s finale, a rewatch reveals both problems and growth.

The post Is Breaking Bad as good as we remember? appeared first on Chicago Reader.

1 hour 47 min

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1 hour 46 min

The post Kajillionaire appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Essays on the hopes and horrors of returning to “normal”

The post (Re)opening up appeared first on Chicago Reader.

These four queer artists are building their own community in the tattoo world.

The post #QTTRs make their mark appeared first on Chicago Reader.

What is the appeal of the game that’s taking the world by storm?

The post The Wild World of Animal Crossing appeared first on Chicago Reader.

1 hour 32 min

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The Chicago-based documentary expertly weaves together LGBTQ history, baseball, and the ups and downs of loving someone for a lifetime.

The post After nearly seven decades, A Secret Love is secret no more appeared first on Chicago Reader.

1 hour 21 min

The post A Secret Love appeared first on Chicago Reader.

What staying at home has taught us about our city and ourselves

The post Essays on isolation appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Jackie Taylor mixes history, personal essay, racial justice, and music to mixed effect.

The post Black Ensemble Theater’s The Healing is saved by the audience appeared first on Chicago Reader.

1 hour 53 min

The post And Then We Danced appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Netflix satisfyingly sends off everyone’s favorite half-horse half-man.

The post BoJack Horseman’s penultimate episode secured its legacy appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Brown Paper Box Co. struggles to make sense of its parallel storylines.

The post If/Then needs star power to compensate for its shallow story appeared first on Chicago Reader.