Chicago Tribune critics and editors guide you through the best things to do in Chicago this weekend.
MAIN EVENT
When last we left the singer-songwriter, Michael Kiwanuka had worked with Kanye West and found himself on the cutting room floor. Since then he released new music, found himself and asked hard questions, such as just what an artist is supposed to be, function and exist in the world. He’s in town to show off that new knowledge.
DON’T MISS
50 years ‘Diamond’: Neil Diamond. 50th (!) anniversary tour. Whoa. 8 p.m. Sunday, United Center, 1901 W. Madison St.; $59.50 -$179.50; www.ticketmaster.com
Patriotic procession: The city’s annual Memorial Day Parade honors fallen veterans. 11 a.m. Saturday, State Street between Lake and Van Buren; free; www.cityofchicago.org
‘Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest’: Two(!) stages of favorite local cover groups. Plus eats. Noon – 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sheffield Avenue between Belmont and Roscoe; $5 suggested donation; www.chicagoevents.com
Made in Chicago: Chicago House Party celebrates house music, the city’s famed export. 2 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, 201 E. Randolph St.; free; www.cityofchicago.org
Suburban farmer’s market: Homewood Farmers Market has food, drink, live music and a 5k run. 9 a.m. Saturdays through October 14, race 5:30 p.m., Martin Avenue Square, 18020 Martin Ave., Homewood; free; www.homesweethomewood.com
MC via NYC: Brooklyn wordsmith Skyzoo has a sharp tongue and an ear for vivid beats. 8 p.m. Sunday, The Elbo Room, 2871 N. Lincoln Ave.; $15-$18; www.elboroomlive.com
Blades of non-glory: “T.” tells the sad, wild saga of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Watch out. Through June 25, American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St.; $20-$38; www.atcweb.org
Take the fam to the ballgame: The Kane County Cougars’ Family Night: four tickets, four hot dogs and sodas and one big bag of popcorn for $39. Northwestern Medicine Field, 34W002 Cherry Ln., Geneva; www.milb.com
Bike on LSD: Bike the Drive clears out Lake Shore Drive for a full morning. 5:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Sunday, starting locations vary; $49-$60; www.bikethedrive.org
Your favorite Pet: Local emo crew Pet Symmetry parties behind its second album. 8 p.m. Friday, Schuba’s, 3159 N Southport Ave.; $15; www.lh-st.com
THE CRITICS RECOMMEND
Chris Jones/Theater: “Relativity”
Albert Einstein is an ideal role for America’s oldest active union actor Mike Nussbaum, the new show by Northlight Theatre reveals. Watch Nussbaum in a heady, talky play like this one — with Einstein very much at the center of the drama — and you leave shaking your head in amazement. Nussbaum, I swear, is as unique as was the man he plays. But aside from Einstein, the play is about the relationship of Professor E=MC2 with his daughter. You get to ponder some of life’s ironies — and the morality of old Einstein himself — while finding yourself back in the parking lot just 70 minutes later. Through June 18 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; $30-$81 at 847-673-6300 or northlight.org
John von Rhein/Classical: Chicago Children’s Choir
The young people’s chorus under Josephine Lee celebrates Memorial Day in a big way with a free “Paint the Town Red” double-header at Millennium Park. Some 4,600 singers from the group’s in-school, neighborhood and other choirs will join CCC alumni for a concert at 11 a.m. Friday; public seating is limited to the Great Lawn. Wrapping up the festivities at 6:30 p.m. Friday will be a program featuring CCC alumni and members of the Voices of Chicago choir. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue; www.ccchoir.org
Lori Waxman/Art: ‘Eugene Eda’s Doors’ and ‘The Wall of Respect: Vestiges, Shards and the Legacy of Black Power’
As part of the citywide “2017 Year of Public Art,” a pair of exhibitions—the Wall of Respect and a series of 32 majestic doors painted by Eugene “Eda” Wade for the interior stairwells of Malcolm X College in 1971—is raising fundamental questions about public art in a city: Who is the “public” in public art? Where does public art happen? Who can commission it and who can create it? And what happens when some of those factors change, as they often do, when neighborhoods and populations shift, when aesthetics go in and out of fashion, when gentrification renders it all moot? “Doors” and “The Wall” run through June 25 and July 30, respectively, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 312-744-3316, www.chicagoculturalcenter.org
Eat, Drink, Do
1) Try a new brunch
Mix up your weekend brunch routine with some activity — like, say, ping pong? River North restaurant and table tennis club Spin just launched brunch, offering dishes including avocado eggs Benedict with roasted tomato, crispy onions and olive oil hollandaise; and horchata pain perdu (aka French toast) with cinnamon whipped cream, bruleed oranges and orange syrup. A new cocktail menu features a wasabi-tinged bloody mary and a St. Germain and prosecco cocktail, perfect for nice weather. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at Spin, 344 N State St., 773-635-9999, chicago.wearespin.com
2) Party in Pilsen
This weekend marks the eighth year of Pilsen’s Mole de Mayo festival, where local chefs and restaurants go head-to-head with their favorite moles — a staple dish in Mexican kitchens — while an open-air market features local crafts, food vendors and two stages for music. There’s even a lucha libre wrestling match, with demos from the wrestlers. Suggested donation $5 for individuals, $10 for families. 5-10 p.m. Friday, May 26; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 27; noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 28 at Ashland Ave. and 18th St., www.facebook.com/moledemayo
3) Pair a live art show with dinner
For a taste of art along with dinner, head to Fulton Market Kitchen for the latest installment of the restaurant’s Yo, Complete Me series. Two artists — in this case, Eva Carlini and Joe Miller — paint in the center of the dining room for two hours before switching canvases and finishing each other’s work, all with an audience of diners. The works are available for purchase via silent auction, with a portion of the winning bid donated to a local charity and matched by FMK. 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, May 26 at Fulton Market Kitchen, 311 N. Sangamon St., 312-773-6900.
4) Help polar bears by drinking beer
Love beer and bears? For every pint of Ursus Mapletimus you drink, you help out polar bears. DryHop’s latest collaborative beer was made in partnership with Lincoln Park Zoo and was tapped during the close of Craft Beer Week. The beer was inspired in part by Churchill, Manitoba in Canada, considered the polar bear capital of the world; the name was derived from the Latin name for polar bear, ursus maritimus, or “water bear.” The Imperial white ale was brewed with smoked malt and maple syrup, yielding a smoky, citrusy sip with a mild bitterness. While supplies last at DryHop, 3155 N Broadway, 773-857-3155.
5) Give your liver a break
Mocktails are nothing to laugh about — the city’s best bartenders are embracing the challenge of crafting palate-pleasing sips that go beyond just juice, yet can go up against the booziest drinks. This weekend, check out Vol. 39’s “Turn Down the Volume” list of mocktails, which features a new addition in time for spring. Created by beverage director Jess Lambert, the Dulce Colada takes traditional elements of its namesake drink (pineapple juice and coconut cream) but upgrades it with a from-scratch dulce de leche, cinnamon and nutmeg for a tropical, virgin sip. You can add booze if you want, but you won’t miss it. $6 at Vol. 39 at the Kimpton Gray Hotel, 39 S. LaSalle St., 312-604-9909.
FOR THE KIDS
It only happens once a year, and for some Chicagoans, it’s just as good as any annual holiday: Bicycles rule Lake Shore Drive this Sunday. It’s just one of the many things to do with the kids this weekend.
AT THE CINEMA
Period-drama veteran Terence Davies turns his attention to poet Emily Dickinson in “A Quiet Passion.” It’s in theaters this weekend.
CHANNEL SURFING
Here’s a look at the most interesting new releases hitting streaming services this week and the weekend’s best bets on broadcast TV and cable:
FRIDAY: “American Masters: Jacques Ppin” is a lively new profile of the French-born chef who elevated kitchen techniques to an art form and became a beloved figure among foodies everywhere. Stanley Tucci narrates. 8 p.m., PBS.
SATURDAY: In the new TV film “All for Love,” when romance novelist (Sara Rue) is teamed with a Navy SEAL (Steve Bacic) for research purposes on a book, she is less than thrilled. Something tells us she’ll have a change of heart. 8 p.m., Hallmark.
