Wed. August 10, 2011
Chicago, IL -
Darren Criss, who plays openly-gay Blaine on Glee, is coming to the Northalsted Market Days festival taking place this weekend in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood.
The 24-year-old Criss, who isn't officially a full-time cast member, joined Fox's hit show during the second season and began romancing Chris Colfer's Kurt Hummel.
Prior to his work on Glee, Criss was best known for his portrayal of Harry Potter in the YouTube hits, "A Very Potter Musical" and "A Very Potter Sequel."
The openly-straight crooner is a favorite among gay fans. Earlier this year, he was voted the #1 hottie on the annual Hot 100 List conducted by the gay men's site AfterElton.
Having grown up in San Francisco, Criss has established a home base in Chicago with Team StarKidd, a theatre company he started while attending the University of Michigan. The company is now located in the Windy City.
Criss and his band will perform Saturday, August 13 at 4:30 p.m. on the Rivers Casino Stage at Addison and Halsted.
More than 40 artists will perform on the festival's four stages, including gay icon Gloria Gaynor, Prince Poppycock, American Idol's Frenchie Davis, Eric Himan and and local favorites 16 Candles and Dot Dot Dot.
The 30th annual Northalsted Market Days, which spans six city blocks between Belmont Avenue and Addison along Halsted St., is the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest.
The event runs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14.
Related: View the full entertainment schedule for Saturday and Sunday on CalendarQ from ChicagoPride.com, Windy City Times and Nightspots magazine.
For the complete article (non-reader view with multimedia and original links),
Tap here.
Head to the local LGBTQ news, events, directory and people network at ChicagoPride.com