Time Out Chicago news

Over the last four days, your newsfeed has likely been inundated with updates from a galaxy far, far away by way of Star Wars Celebration, a massive convention that took over McCormick Place this weekend. Fans were treated to news of the ninth installment in the saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and an accompanying trailer that depicts Rey backflipping over spaceships and teases the return of the evil Emperor Palpatine. Guests also got a sneak peek of the immersive Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge attraction opening at Disneyland and Walt Disney World later this year, as well as a sneak peek at The Mandalorian, a live-action Star Wars TV series that will premier on the Disney+ streaming platform in November. Whether you walked the convention floor in McCormick Place or just happened to be on a Green Line train this weekend, you probably also noticed hundreds of Star Wars fans dressed in Jedi robes, Stormtrooper uniforms, Mandalorian armor and smugglers' jackets. Frankly, the amount of great cosplay at Star Wars Celebration was overwhelming—nearly every time you turned a corner, you were confronted by someone dressed in a detailed Darth Vader costume or radio-controlled replica of R2-D2 beeping and whistling as it rolled by. After spending an afternoon in the thick of the convention, we brought back photos of our favorite costumes (and some amazing droids) that we encountered during Star Wars Celebration. Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph

There's only one way to get into Janitor's Closet, a secret new speakeasy that's hidden inside boutique hotel FieldHouse Jones. Guests walk through the hotel lobby and take a staircase to the lower level before entering a door marked "Employees Only." Once inside, curiosity seekers are rewarded with intriguing cocktails and an ultra-intimate setting. The aptly named bar is housed inside an actual former janitor's closet, a relic of the building's past as Borden Dairy Depot. Janitor's Closet has just 15 seats, including stools at the bar and booths made to look like seats from an old school bus. The interior is decked out in antiques from flea markets and thrift shops, and the walls are lined with Pine-sol boxes, shaggy mops and vintage paint canisters. Jef Tate (Moneygun) oversees the bar program, with a menu of riffs on classic cocktails crafted with intriguing ingredients like okra-infused vermouth and black garlic kombucha. The Brown Line blends mezcal, tequila, pineapple, tamarind and lime, while the Cafe Con Leche Flip is a pick-me-up in a glass with rum, coffee, heavy cream, simple syrup and egg yolk. "When people come into Janitor’s Closet, I want them to get the vibe that they can be anywhere in the world," says Tate. "I want the space to evoke a sense of wanderlust, and be a place where locals and travelers can meet, share stories and feel the comfort of being surrounded by friends and family." The bar menu also includes wine and locally crafted beer from the lik

You might want to take off your AirPods the next time you're waiting for a train at the recently overhauled 95th/Dan Ryan Red Line Terminal. On Monday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CTA unveiled two new installations created by local artist and Stony Island Arts Bank founder Theaster Gates, most notably a 200-square-foot broadcast studio and DJ booth that will produce audio programming for Red Line commuters. Called An Extended Song of Our People, Gates's installation will broadcast real-time programming—including live music and sets from local DJs—over the 95th Street Station's public address system (a streaming version of the station that can be accessed online is also being considered). While no schedule has been released, plans for the installation's programming outlined by the CTA include regular weekday DJs, DJs-in-residence and time for Chicago residents to take part in conversations and debates. Gates told the Sun-Times that he wants playlists to reflect “the music of these times and the music of the past of black and brown people.” On the south end of the terminal, Gates also revealed a pair of large hanging tapestries, entitled america, america. Made from decommissioned fire hoses, the works are meant to symbolize the history of the civil rights movement in America, referencing the high-pressure hoses that were turned against African American protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, in the ’60s. Take a look at photos and renderings of the 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal's new broa

Entering its sixth year, the Chicago Loop Alliance's ACTIVATE event series returns to unexpected venues in downtown Chicago this summer, with plenty of live performances, art installations and other surprises in tow. This morning, event organizers announced that the pop-up parties will take place on June 6, July 18, August 22 and September 26 from 5 to 10pm. Joining the city's celebration of the Year of Chicago Theatre, the 2019 season is entitled ACTIVATE: Backstage and will highlight the local performing arts community, including drag performers, lighting designers, stage decorators, comedians and circus acts. The curators behind this summer's ACTIVATE lineup are creative entrepreneur Missy Perkins, talent manager Roe Melloe, musician Miss Alex White, production agency Sonidos and performance group Hot Kitchen. As in years past, ACTIVATE pop-ups will be hosted at secret locations, which are announced shortly before they take place—though a press release hints that at least one of the events will take place in an alley behind a theater in the Loop. The venue for each of the parties will be revealed on the Chicago Loop Alliance's website. Admission is free, but attendees who RSVP to ACTIVATE events are entitled to a complimentary drink ticket, which can be redeemed for beer, wine or a cocktail. We'll keep you posted as more details about this year's ACTIVATE lineup are revealed. In the meantime, you can start guessing which of the Loop's best theaters will welcome the pop-

The Hoxton, Chicago opened to the public earlier this week, unveiling 182 hotel rooms, two chef-powered restaurants, a subterranean cocktail lounge and a rooftop pool—all set in the heart of Fulton Market at 200 North Green Street. The hospitality brand originated in London in 2006, and Chicago is its third U.S. outpost, after recent openings in Williamsburg and Portland. One of the hotel's biggest draws is its food and drink offerings, which are curated by Boka Restaurant Group (Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, Bellemore). On the rooftop, there's Stephanie Izard's Cabra Cevicheria, an open-air restaurant specializing in Peruvian shared plates. All-day spot Cira is located on the ground floor, offering modern Mediterranean fare from chef Chris Pandel. Tucked away downstairs, Lazy Bird is a dark and sexy cocktail den that serves 52 classics with a side of live music. All three concepts open to the public on Thursday, April 4. Other communal spaces within the Hoxton are designed to reflect an "open-house policy," allowing Chicagoans and visitors to experience the the hotel without booking a room for the night. And yes, that extends to the rooftop pool. You needn't have a room key to head upstairs and splash around or sit by the fire pits on the terrace. The Hoxton also curates a roster of interesting events—think talks, workshops, DJ sets and art exhibitions—that are typically free with RSVP. April happenings include a plant swap, a pizza party and a yoga class set to trap music. A

Though Germany's Bauhaus art and design school existed for a mere 14 years, the influence of the institution’s holistic approach to creation still resonates in contemporary art, architecture and graphic design. The school’s legacy is especially apparent in Chicago’s skyline, which boasts two prominent buildings designed by former Bauhaus director Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: the Kluczynski Federal Building and the AMA Plaza (formerly, the IBM Plaza). Another of Van der Rohe’s structures, the modular McCormick House, lies to the west of Chicago on the campus of the Elmhurst Art Museum, the only U.S. institution chosen to host traveling exhibition “The Whole World a Bauhaus.” Assembled to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus’s founding, the show collects paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and objects that were produced between 1919 and 1933. Divided into eight chapters with titles like “Art, Crafts and Technology” and “Experiment,” the show features items that reveal the school’s various fields of study, like a ceramic coffee pot created in a Bauhaus workshop and vintage photos developed using experimental processes. Among the displays, guests will spot objects such as printed publications and a chair made of metal piping that, nearly a century after it was conceived, still exudes a sense of modernity. Outside of its galleries, the Elmhurst Art Museum supplements its celebration of the Bauhaus with a full slate of programming, including discussions with sc

On the surface, the Wing is a picturesque paradise: The 8,331-square-foot female-centric coworking space is accented with playful wallpaper and colorful furniture. Bright, beautiful artwork hangs from the walls, and massive windows allow natural light to creep into every nook and cranny of the space. Splayed across shelves that stretch the length of the room, hundreds of books are organized by color to create a rainbow effect. But take a closer look and you'll find loads of substance and nods to Chicago throughout the Wing's Fulton Market location, which opens at 811 W Fulton St in the West Loop on April 11. The interior design is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, with muted tones and hexagonal tile work. The walls are adorned with artwork from Chicago-based, female-identifying artists like painter Candida Alvarez, photographer Elizabeth De La Piedra and sculptor Soo Shin. (Guests have the option to purchase the pieces they love.) The bookshelves are curated with tomes from Women & Children First, an Andersonville bookstore known for its focus on feminist and kids literature. One of the conference rooms is dedicated to journalist and activist Ida B. Wells. Even the café serves dishes from local female chefs, including a little gem salad from Monteverde's Sarah Grueneberg and matcha-dipped strawberry custard bars from Pretty Cool Ice Cream's Dana Salls Cree. "When you come to the Wing, the hope is that you're meeting the women of Chicago who are building the city—in tech, st

Entering its fourth year, the Chicago Media Project’s Doc10 Film Festival has established itself as an annual highlight for fans of cinema. Focusing on vital new non-fiction features from around the globe, the festival kicks off at the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square on Thursday, April 11 with the much-anticipated local premiere of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez documentary Knock Down the House, and concludes on Sunday, April 15 with the sustainable-farm portrait The Biggest Little Farm. The rest of the lineup features a diverse array of movies, almost all of which will be followed by Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. Most impressively, 60% of the films in this year’s lineup—programmed by Chicago International Film Festival doc programmer Anthony Kaufman—were directed or co-directed by women. One of the most interesting films you can catch at this year's Doc10 Film Festival is Hail Satan?, a witty and informative look at the meteoric rise in popularity of the non-theistic religious group known as the “Satanic Temple.” With unfettered access to the leaders of the group’s various nationwide chapters, including charismatic church founder Lucien Greaves, director Penny Lane crafts a deceptively simple work of political commentary that ultimately sympathizes with the “Satanists” as a group of merry pranksters who see their movement as a counterbalance to the repressiveness of other organized religions. For those looking for something more aesthetically daring, Lukas Lorentzen’s Mi

Earlier this month, the city revealed the complete calendar of free Millennium Park events this summer, packed with concerts, festivals, movie screenings, workouts and more. Today, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special events unveiled the complete lineup for the Millennium Park Summer Music Series, which brings performers from around the world to the stage at Pritzker Pavilion for a series of free concerts from June 13 through August 15. While the Millennium Park Summer Music Series has downsized the number of concerts it presents in recent years, the 2019 lineup is actually slightly larger than last year's, with 11 concerts (the city presented 10 shows in 2018). Highlights of this year's schedule include indie rockers Car Seat Headrest (July 1), alt-country singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless (July 8), pop songwriter Natalie Prass (July 25), and an orchestral performance of J Dilla's instrumental hip-hop, arranged by composer Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The lineup also features several international acts, such as Grammy Award-winning Venezuelan dance band Los Amigos Invisibles (July 25), Congolese funk group Jupiter & Okwess (August 15), and acclaimed Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes (June 24). According to a press release, this summer will mark the debut of Pritzker Pavilion's newly upgraded speakers and audio control systems, which will presumably make it easier to hear the performances taking place on stage if you're relaxing on the lawn. Check out the complete Millenniu

Earlier this year, the city and the Chicago Department of Aviation revealed five possible designs for O'Hare International Airport's new Global Terminal, the centerpiece of an $8.5 billion expansion of O'Hare's existing Terminal 2 that will integrate international and domestic flights. Yesterday, the city selected Studio ORD (led by Aqua Tower designer Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang) as the firm that will be responsible for designing the new terminal, which will add new gates, lounges, concessions, baggage facilities and security screening areas to a 2.2 million-square-foot space. Studio ORD's winning design features a terminal and concourses that are filled with natural light, using towering steel trusses and glass to maximize the amount of daylight that seeps into the structure. The building's Y-shaped design is meant to echo the three converging branches of the Chicago River, centered around a glass skylight (called an oculus) that is shaped like one of the six-pointed stars on Chicago's flag. Renderings of the interior of the Global Terminal look more like a town plaza than an airport concourse, with trees and greenery sprouting from the floor amid gates and large open spaces outfitted with tables and chairs. The terminal's ticketing a security facilities are depicted as sitting above the concourse, offering sweeping views of O'Hare's airfield. Don't expect to start taking amazing Instagram photos throughout the new Global Terminal anytime soon—the $2.2 billion project isn