[image]
[title]Grab your parade-going friends, family and other supporters and hit these hetero-friendly events and hangouts during Pride weekend.
Avenue Tavern (2916 N Broadway, 773-975-7000) This mostly hetero corner tap wears its pride more loudly than many of the gay hangouts we know. Every June it sports rainbow flags while also hosting pre- and post-Pride parties.
Chicago House Birdhouse Art Auction (Room & Board, 55 E Ohio St, 773-248-5200; Thu 23 at 6pm; $85, advance $70) Your hip mom and dad will love the chance to bring home a fancy new birdhouse for the backyard while mingling with the city’s gay glitterati at this auction and gala to benefit Chicago House’s mission to help people impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Halsted’s (3441 N Halsted St, 773-348-9696) This tasty bar and grill gives you two gay-day options. You can retreat to the expansive and tranquil back patio for a margarita and burger, or you can nab a front-row seat at the window and watch the drunkards stroll by while still enjoying a buffer from the chaos.
Pride Night with Chicago Sky (Allstate Arena, 6920 N Mannheim Rd, 866-759-9622; Thu 23 at 7pm; $25) Cheering fans are just what the Chicago Sky, our women’s pro basketball team, needs as it takes on four-time conference semifinalists the Connecticut Sun. Ticket price includes a Sky T-shirt; 20 percent of ticket proceeds benefit the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
30 Queer Plays in 60 Straight Minutes (5153 N Ashland Ave, 773-275-5255; Fri 24, Sat 25; $20) The Neo-Futurists, purveyors of impossibly short sketches, dig into their rainbow-hued archives for a special Pride show that mimics their signature production Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, in which 30 plays are performed in 60 minutes. Check out the lobby, decked out in gay art.
Wilde (3130 N Broadway, 773-244-0404) Poor Oscar was reviled for being open about his sexual orientation back in the day, so we suspect the Brit wit would enjoy that his namesake pub has become a joint for homos and heteros to kick back with a post-parade pint of ale and shepherd’s pie.