Fun Events in Chicago: September 9 – 15

Ongoing until 9/15: Beethoven Festival: Love 2013

A festival inspired by the creativity and genius of Ludwig van Beethoven. Music of all genres fully integrated with visual, performance and installation art of all styles, plus education, parties, great conversations, good food and drink. LOVE 2013 will be headquartered at Merit School of Music’s Joy Faith Knapp Music Center, with substantial programming taking place throughout the surrounding West Loop neighborhood. Read More

9/11 World Music Wednesdays with Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic at Old Town School of Folk Music

Steel string ten finger tapping guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis, and nylon string classical guitarist Goran Ivanovic have fused their musical roots with modern, classical, world, jazz, and beyond in this experimental duo. Read More

9/11: 15th Annual Concert for Peace at Millennium Park

Come for an evening of gong and songs. Fulcrum Point New Music Project, commemorates the events of September 11th with its annual Concert for Peace. This year’s program will showcase compositions by South Asian composers. This interactive concert of music for strings, gongs and song features an international processional of Chicago Public School students, the World Premiere of Robert and Kathleen Lombardo’s tribute to Holocaust survivors, “Against Forgetting”, Param Vir’s tantric prayer for peace, “…beyond the reach of the world…”, and “Shanti Paath: One Resonance: One Peace” by Elizabeth Basta and Kalyan Pathak to which you can sing your prayer and ring a gong for peace! Read More

9/12-22: World Music Festival Chicago Returns to Millennium Park and Citywide

The World Music Festival Chicago will once again present traditional and contemporary international music September 12-22 in multiple venues throughout the city. More than 75 free events are scheduled including concerts, live radio performances and interviews and educational workshops. In 2013, the festival will open and close with five days of performances at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavillion featuring the music of Latin America, India, Africa and Asia, among others. Don’t miss the legendary Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra with Plena Libre & AfriCaribe on Thursday, September 12. The festival also includes a Festival au Desert – Caravan for Peace and an all-night celebration (9pm-8am) of Indian Classical Music at the Chicago Cultural Center. Read More

9/13: Cafe Tacvba in Concert

Café Tacvba, one of the most important Latin American rock bands mixes influences from indigenous folk traditions, Jarocho, and electro punk to form a style known to their fans as Rock en Español. They’ll be performing in Chicago this Friday at Aragon Ballroom. Read More

9/13-15: American Indian Center of Chicago’s 60th Annual Pow Wow

Enjoy native foods, artists, vendors, singers, and dancers – ALL are welcome!!
Busse Woods Forest Preserve-Elk Grove Village, IL (Rt. 72 nera Rt. 53). Read More

9/13-15: Riot Fest
Riot Fest is an annual punk music festival happening in Humboldt Park, but This year’s edition offers reunions, hip-hop, ska, folk and rock & roll hall-of-famers. My favorite act this year is Blondie! Read More

9/14: Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater 15th Anniversary Fall Concert

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre is a unique dance theatre company that fuses contemporary Latin dance, live music, and visual art to express the stories of American diversity. The company is celebrating its 15th anniversary with the premiere of new works, featuring original live music and contemporary dance. The company does a wonderful work in the community exposing youth in underserved communities to contemporary dance, cultural diversity, and conflict resolution. I had an interesting conversation with Wilfredo Rivera (Artistic Director) and Stu Greenspan (Musical Director) a few weeks ago for CAN TV’s show Perspectivas Latinas. Watch the interviews and some videos of their beautiful work here:

9/15: Guatemalan Independence Day Parade

Guatemala celebrates its independence from Spain this Sunday at noon at the corner of Montrose and California Avenues. Don’t miss it!

9/15: Buen Provecho Pilsen – A Restaurant Tour

Eighteenth Street Development Corporation is proud to sponsor this end of Summer event. Tickets to this event are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the event. You can sample over 30 different restaurants for only $25. This year’s Buen Provecho! Pilsen will be held on Sunday, September 15, 2013, from 2pm-7pm. Read More

9/15: 5k Run for Huaytara, Peru

From the Illinois Peruvian American Medical Society (ILPAMS). Proceeds from this event will be used to for their next mission: to convert an existing small clinic into a Medical-Surgical Center. Read More

9/15: Open Streets Chicago
Open Streets Chicago temporarily closes streets to vehicle traffic, so that people may use them for walking, jogging, bicycling, dancing, skateboarding and more. This year’s Open Streets will take place in Wicker Park/Bucktown/Logan Square. Families can get out and have fun while promoting community culture in a car-free public space along 3 miles of Milwaukee Avenue. Come and enjoy healthy recreation including biking, running, yoga classes, skate parks, interactive playgrounds, and climbing walls. Read More

9/15 The Bucktown 5K
The Bucktown 5K is a 5 Km Chicago neighborhood race that is a warm-up to Chicago Marathon. Read More