Chicago Cultural History
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Lovie Austin: Got The World In A Jug
Lovie, like Ma, relished in crafting her presentation. Unlike Ma, she mainly worked in the background, supporting Blues vocalists like Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter and Ida Cox, while leaving an outsized impression on those who dared to glance beyond the spotlight.
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Stony Island (the movie) returns to Chicago!
from siskelfilmcenter.org: STONY ISLAND (aka MY MAIN MAN FROM STONY ISLAND) 1978, Andrew Davis, USA, 97 min. With Richard Davis, Edward Stoney Robinson At the Siskel Center, 164 North State Street, Chicago Wednesday April 4th (8pm-9:30pm), Thursday April 5th (8:15pm-9:45pm) “Stony Island has been the birthplace of great American music and amazing musical talent, nurturing…
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A whole new (art) thing? Chicago’s 2012 Cultural Plan.
CITY OF CHICAGO LAUNCHES 2012 CULTURAL PLAN INITIATIVE Public Town Hall Meetings Begin Tonight! The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is asking residents, cultural organizations and community groups for their input in developing the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan. The plan will deliver a set of recommendations to support the arts and artists…
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Opportunity Please Knock Chorus: oscar brown, jr.’s collaboration with the blackstone rangers
In 1967, members of the Blackstone Rangers, a notorious Gang in Chicago, collaborated with singer/composer/playwright/activist Oscar Brown Jr. to create a Musical Revue called “Opportunity Please Knock”. About eight thousand people went to the show during the first weeks of performance (at Chicago’s First Presbyterian Church). Photos in this post are from that first run.…
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Sophia Tareen’s Chicago Soul Food Sign-of-the-Times
photo by Southern Foodways Alliance. Sophia Tareen’s article published on various platforms this month, entitled “Chicago Soul Food Disappearing as Blacks Leave, (excerpted below) brings up a number of over-arching issues as to why these community institutions have had some hard times, but leaves out any solutions, leaving us with sort of a hollow ‘sign-of-the-times’…
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Army and Lou’s: obituary of an icon.
(above, Common pictured at Army and Lou’s) How does a person write an obituary for a restaurant? Not just a restaurant, but a place with historical significance. The Sun-Times did a pretty good job: It was the late Mayor Harold Washington’s favorite restaurant — the booth where he always sat still bears his name. And…
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Whatever it is I think I see, becomes a Tootsie Roll to me…
Now is the time of year that our minds drift towards fantastical costumes and sugary delights. Above, perhaps the sweetest costume I’ve ever seen. The Tootsie Roll Baby Bunting costume is made out of a soft brown felt and is available at Target.com. A bit about Tootsie Rolls (a Chicago based classic): Tootsie Rolls were first manufactured in…
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Messing With the Kid
After Eighty Years, Kiddieland of Melrose Park closes to the public this weekend. A rift between two branches of one extended family tore beyond repair, resulting in the closing (one branch owns the park, while one owns the land the park is built on [and didn’t extend the park’s lease]). Many of the rides were…
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Printers’ Ball Tonite!
Chicago is a hotbed for so many fields of creative art: among them printed arts. From edgy magazines (Alarm, Stop Smiling, et al), to indie book publishers, comics, literary journals, and newspapers, there’s myriad ways to get high on ink! Celebrate our collective literary history at the Printers’ Ball, organized by Poetry Magazine (an iconic…
darkjive.com 