Quilting isn't just for your grandma anymore. This three-day International Quilt Festival hosts mixed-media classes and an open studio where artists can work on their own projects. Search through hundreds of vendors for fabrics, patterns, supplies and gifts. (Donald E Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N River Road, Thurs-Sat 10am, $25)
Progressive instrumental trio Dawn of Midi visits Chicago to perform selections from its latest album, Dysnomia. The complex rhythmic structures and trance-like grooves will make you feel like you've been transported to another dimension. (Constellation, 3111 N Western Ave, 8:30pm, $18-$22)
3. Get Elizabethan-style laughs
The Improvised Shakespeare Company, one of the iO Theatre's most popular recurring shows, performs an improvised play in the language of Shakespeare. Don't worry, this is far from high school English—the wordplay and rhymes are more in line with the silly humor of Monty Python. (iO Theater, 1501 N Kingsbury St, 8pm, $16)