August 27 - 30, 2009 - You’ve Got a Busy Weekend

Was that all the summer we had Was two weeks enough for you? Labor Day looms and the warm weather continues. The outlook for the weekend is cool and breezy so make the most of it and get out there and have some fun!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27

Start your weekend early by heading out to more than 20 of the bars participating in the 6th annual Bar AIDS benefitting AIDS Care Chicago. Tonight as you party a portion of the proceeds from the bars will be donated back to support AIDS Care. A HUGE raffle is planned, tix are $5 each or 4 for $15 - you could win 2 Roundtrip tickets on Delta Airlines.

If you enjoy architecture and design from the great Art Deco period, then you should go to the cocktail reception for the Chicago Art Deco Society tonight at Club Lucky in Bucktown. You'll get a chance to find out more about the organization and meet new and current members. Check the site for full details.

Andersonville is starting up a recycling program that is going to be installed along Clark Street and they're having an eco-Kickoff party. Stop by Mary's Attic from 7-9PM where $10 will get you music by Rogue DJ, delicious bites, a free cocktail, a chance to win great prizes - and more importantly helping to promote recycling in the neighborhood.

FESTIVAL LINEUP

S/S - Bucktown Arts Fest
S/S - Randolph Street Market
S/S - Taste of Greece

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28

Reeling Lesbian and Gay Film Festival has just announced that they'll be showing Short Bus tonight at Chicago Filmmakers to get everyone excited about the 28th Festival coming up in November. Catch John Cameron Mitchell's tale about a sex therapist hunting for her own orgasam at a notrious sex club in NYC. Social hour starts at 7, screening at 8. $8/$4 members

'Amy Minato rejected her Chicago life of consumption and joined a commune in Oregon in an experiment in "living off the grid."' She will be at Women & Children First Bookstore in Andersonville at 7:30PM to read from her book, Siesta Lane, and talk of her experiences.

Did you go to CIMMFest this year? If you enjoyed it and a great time, join them tonight for a screening starting at 5:30 of Naked Lunch, the film directed by David Cronenberg based on the William S. Burroughs novel. A fundraiser for CIMMFest 2010 will feature Peter Weller (who played Burroughs in the film) as well as several other Burroghs collaborators, friends, poets and activists will be on hand during the event. Check the site for full details. Space is limited. Purchase tix online.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29

Equality Illinois wants you at the Pie Toss at Sidetrack starting at 2PM. You'll get a chance to bid on the right to throw a pie in the face of some great Chicagoans like Paula Basta and Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois, or Nirmalpal Sachdev from Steamworks. Check the site for full details.
Join the Impact has brought Cleve Jones to town, one of Harvey Milks closest collaborators, he will talk about The Struggle for LGBT Civil Rights. Head on over to the Victory-Biograph at 6PM. Entry is sliding scale starting at $5. Space is limited, so reserve your space online.
Dance for Life will take over the Harris Theater for Music and Dance tonight for the 17th iterationi of this amazing event that raises awareness and much needed funding for AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, AIDSCare and Center on Halsted. Multiple events are planned, check the site for full details.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 30
It's difficult to believe that it's been 12 years since Princess Diana died in a tragic accident in a Parisian tunnel. Today, the Drake Hotel is hosting an Afternoon Tea in Tribute to Diana, the Princess of Wales. A slide presentation, Fall Hat Collection showing and a tour of the Presidential Suite #550 where the princess stayed. $30 per adult (includes Afternoon Tea). RSVP to (312) 787-2200 or shaun.rajah@hilton.com
Tonight catch the inaugural performance of the Chicago LGBT Youth Show Choir at the Center on Halsted in a Benefit Concert. The choir was recently organized by volunteers to provide LGBT youth and their allies a safe place to be themselves and to express and share in their passion for music. Tickets tonight are $35 which includes reserved seats and a dessert and champagne reception with the cast following the show. General Admission tickets are $25.
Although Michigan's Womyn's Music Festival is a distant memory, many are still keeping the "bliss alive" by continuing to celebrate the Michfest experience with a picnic at Hollywood Beach from 3-9PM. Check the site for full details.
**Remember to come back every Thursday morning so you have time to plan your weekend**