It's street fest time in Chicago and this weekend is promising to be the perfect weather to be outside.  Take the family to the Do Division Street Fest for some fun activities, good music, tasty food and funky sidewalk shopping.  The Division street fest takes place in Wicker park over a ten block stretch of Division street from Ashland to Leavitt.  Live music will be sponsered by the Empty Bottle on the Empty Bottle Presents stage.  The music line up includes JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound and Hollywood Holt among other bands.  Take the kids to the family fun fest area where you'll find a family stage featuring kids' music and performances, cookie decoratoing, crafts, face painting, pony rides and more.  What better way to get to know this edgy, hip neighborhood?  The fun runs through Saturday, May 30 through Sunday May 31 from noon until 10:00pm and concures with the Around the Coyote 2009 Spring Arts Festival.   

Are you looking for a fun and inexpensive way to wrap up the week?  On Friday, May 15, Columbia College is celebrating creativity and the work of seniors and graduate students with the Manifest Urban Arts Festival.  Festivities run from 11:00am until 10:00pm and include performance art at various locations, an art walk through area galleries, an art sale at the student art store, music, and more.  The official festival kick-off is at noon and with give aways and music from Mucca Pazza, a punk marching band.  At 6:45pm until 7:45pm students will be marching in a parade featuring giant puppets created by students and faculty.  Columbia College is located at 640 South Wabash Ave.  Admission to the festival is free and open to the public.  

Check out the Manifest Urban Arts schedule page for a complete schedule, location of events.  What a great way to party and get those creative juices flowing!   

 

 

What are you doing this afternoon?  No plans?  Head over to the open house at Fulton Market.  Fulton Market is one of Chicago's newer hotspots and a growing neighborhood.  You'll find funky galleries, trendy boutiques, and innovative restaurants.  Some of Chicago's hottest fashion designers make this their home.  There's plenty of free parking and theres no admision price.  The festivities run from noon until 5:00pm.  Explore the Fulton Market neighborhood and have some fun!

Although this event is a bit north of Chicago, in Highland Park, it's easy to get to and a great opportunity to experience the work and meet over 35 professional artists,  and 25 talented art students, all in one place.  On Tuesday, April 28 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM as part of the Focus on the Arts Program,  Highland Park Highschool invites the public to view works and presentations by a variety of artists including Cat Chow, Lara Miller, David Gista, and Matthew Lew.  Art mediums will include fashion design, photography, ceramics, painting, mixed media, sculpture, performance art and more.   Highland Park Highschool is easily accessible from Chicago either by car (a 20 minute drive) or by Chicago METRA.  Get off at the Highland Park stop and walk two blocks north on St. John.  Don't miss this chance to soak in the art of so many talented local and national artists at once!  The only cost to you is transportation.       

Attention all artists, arts organizations, and arts related businesses.  On Saturday, April 4, 2009 the 6th Annual Chicago Creative Workshop will be presented at the Chicago Cultural Center.  It's a free workshop for everyone in the business of the arts.  Over 20 workshops, 100 vendors, and 40 consultants will be featured at the workshop.  For a schedule and list of participants click here.  It's a great way to connect with those in the Chicago arts community and brush up on your business skills as well.  The hours are 10:00AM - 4:00PM.  Whether you are a painter, actor, writer, or gallery owner, don't miss this opportunity to network, learn and see what others are doing.

 When you combine Bingo and Tango what do you get?  Find out on the second Tuesday of every month at the MCA.  Hosted by Jason Pickelman from 6:00-8:00, this spicy mix includes filling Bingo cards with shapes based on works in the MCA collection.  In between games, you can learn how to tango with professional Argentine dance instructors.  For more information go to www.mcachicago.org.