Triumph, IL Arts & Culture and More

The Rundown: The South Side’s Black theater scene

Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and this cranberry crème brûlée is now on my shortlist of things to make this month. Here’s what you need to know today. As WBEZ’s Mike Davis writes, the South Side was home to some of the first Black theater companies in the country, including the first Black equity company, The Kuumba Theatre Company, founded in 1968. In the ’60s and ’70s, Black theater companies on the South Side thrived, including eta Creative Arts Foundation and Theodore Ward’s South Side Center for the Performing Arts.

oakpark.com

Dick Biondi doc comes to the Lake to celebrate rock DJ

Anyone who grew up with a transistor radio under their pillow in the early 1960s in Chicago — or anywhere in the entire Midwest for that matter — remembers Dick Biondi. . Chicago would have more than a few exceptionally talented and engaging radio personalities over the decades, but Biondi holds a special place in Chicago radio history, and in the hearts and imagination of his now aged listeners. The “Wild I-tralian” ushered in a new era in Chicago radio as rock ‘n’ roll music, already popular with Elvis Presley, was about to explode as the Beatles and the British Invasion swept through America 

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WGN News

Siskel and Ebert’s legacy will be honored with a new Chicago monument

To support the effort, some of Hollywood's biggest names have donated some film memorabilia for auction at siskelandebertstatue.org.

southwestregionalpublishing.com

Cynthia Ramirez joins Green Hills Library Board

Cynthia Ramirez has joined the Green Hills Public Library District Board of Trustees, bringing her interest in education, literacy and public service to the seven-member board. Ramirez was sworn in during the board’s Oct. 19 meeting and will serve until the next Consolidated Election in April 2027. “I am...

Palos Hills, IL · 3d

Riverside Brookfield Landmark

Strand Theater opening pushed to 2027

The Strand Theater, future home of the Glaser Players local acting troupe and other community programming, is now set to open in the first months of 2027. John Dumas, the leader of the Brookfield Theater Corporation that will operate the Strand Theater, said the Strand is now set to open in January or February 2027 in downtown Brookfield. Dumas said in September that the group was planning to host a ribbon cutting on Dec. 4 and hold its first performances in the space that weekend.

Brookfield, IL · 3d

Chicago Public Radio

Review: ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ reflects a generational split on conservatism. But the debate feels stale.

I often joke with friends about how significantly our world shifted in 2020. Our lives essentially split into a pre- and post-COVID-19 existence, and everything that happened in the before-times feels like it occurred in a completely different lifetime. That’s dramatic. But it’s the result of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic...

newcity.com

Literary Portals: Chicago’s Indie Bookstore Renaissance Is Built Through Community

Once a month in Evanston, women flock to a little storefront on Main Street for “Hot Moms Night.” The space isn’t a bar or a nightclub, it’s a bookstore. These moms are there to have a drink, listen to good music and talk about books. Betsy...

Chicago Public Radio

Longtime Chicago arts leader Michelle T. Boone to retire from Poetry Foundation top role

The Chicago-based Poetry Foundation announced Tuesday that its president and CEO, Michelle T. Boone, will retire at the end of 2027. Boone, who previously served as the city’s cultural commissioner, led a period of change at the foundation, which is among the largest funders of poetry organizations nationally. Boone,...

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WTTW - Chicago PBS

UChicago’s Banned Books Scholar on the Chilling Effect of Censorship Efforts Across the US

As a longtime English language arts teacher in Florida, Dulcey Hunter knows firsthand the benefits of students reading banned books in the classroom and conversely, the chilling effect that book bans can have on educators. Since September, Hunter has served as the University of Chicago’s inaugural banned books postdoctoral scholar,...

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ABC10

Hundreds try to move Chicago's Bean sculpture in viral internet stunt

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WHSV

This Day in History: The famous Route 66 established

Los Angeles, CA · 2d

artsfuse.org

Soul Album Review: Lalah Hathaway’s Chicago State of Soul

On “Made in Chicago,” Lalah Hathaway turns family memories and hometown roots into a dreamlike journey through soul, jazz, and R&B. Made in Chicago, Lalah Hathaway. (Hathaway Entertainment and SRG/ILS Group) Chicago, Illinois, in the late 1960s was a city experiencing a gamut of news coverage. In 1968...

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NBC Chicago

Starbucks' viral blind Bearista boxes are here, and fans are lining up to get their paws on them

Long lines were forming outside Chicago-area Starbucks in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, but it wasn't exactly because of coffee. It's because of cute glass bears. Tuesday, blind boxes of Starbucks' viral "Bearista" glass cups landed at coffeehouses nationwide. According to the coffee giant, the surprise red boxes contain one of five adorable, hand-blown glass cups in the shape of bears: Aspen, Reiny, Bunny and Joy.

rockandbluesmuse.com

Blues Legend Benny Turner To Release ‘My Brother’s Blues: From Texas To Chicago’

Blues Legend Benny Turner To Release ‘My Brother’s Blues: From Texas To Chicago’ feat. Guests Bobby Rush, Jimmie Vaughan, Derek O’Brien, Billy Branch & Carolyn Wonderland. Nola Blue Records will release My Brother’s Blues: From Texas to Chicago, a newly expanded, remixed, reimagined, and remastered edition...

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People

Hundreds Gather in Chicago for Viral Stunt to Move 110-Ton ‘Bean’ Sculpture ‘7 Inches’ to the Left

A large crowd joined together to try and push Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture on Sunday, Nov. 8

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NBC Chicago

Fall Out Boy announce Soldier Field show on new ‘Twilight of the Punks' tour

After several days of cryptic teases, Fall Out Boy has officially announced their next world tour will make a stop at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The “Twilight of the Punks” tour will feature the iconic band alongside The Offspring, Good Charlotte and The Story So Far, and it will span the world next year, according to a press release.

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ABC 7 Chicago

'The Royale' tells story of Jack Johnson, 1st Black boxer to become heavyweight champion of world

"The Royale" is a powerful play at Writers Theatre on the North Shore, getting rave reviews.

liveforlivemusic.com

This Week in Live Music History: Phish Opens for Big Star’s Alex Chilton in Chicago, 1990

Photo: Steve Eichner/WireImage — Jon Fishman performs with Phish at Wetlands Preserve in New York City, 1990. By the end of the ‘80s, Phish was playing all over New England and just beginning to venture into other parts of the country, sometimes opening for other artists in cities where the budding jam band wasn’t yet a major draw. In March 1990, Phish visited Chicago for the first time, playing the Lounge Ax, a 300-capacity club in Lincoln Park. Eight months later the band returned, this time opening for a somewhat surprising headliner: Alex Chilton, best known as the leader of the acclaimed ‘70s power pop band Big Star.

thelansingjournal.org

Calumet Region’s history comes alive at Sand Ridge Heritage Day

SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. — From ancient stone tools and traditional woodworking to guided nature walks and wildlife education, visitors explored thousands of years of history during Calumet Heritage Day on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Sand Ridge Nature Center. The free event, hosted by the Forest Preserves of Cook...

South Holland, IL · 4d

evanstonroundtable.com