Rogers Park hosts Chalk Howard Street today, the annual chalk art festival where the neighborhood is the canvas. Renowned 2D and 3D chalk artists will share the streets with kids, hobbyists, emerging artists, and admirers to transform the city’s surface east of the Howard el station between Paulina and Ashland. This free festival runs from 11 AM-8 PM and includes music throughout the day from DJ Slacky J, Urban Rhythm Band, and more, as well as local merchants and food vendors. For a complete list of programming, check out the Chalk Howard Street website. (MC)
Books & Backpacks is happening from noon-4 PM by Little Cubs Field in Humboldt Park (1440 N. Humboldt Dr.; the field is on the west side of the park, near the Hirsch and Kedzie entrance). This is an opportunity for anyone who needs school supplies to get them at no cost, while supplies last. Anyone is welcome to drop in, but families who sign up in advance will be entered into a raffle. Prizes include computers, gift cards, and books. Everything is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Want to support kids’ learning? Buy something from Books & Backpacks’s Amazon wishlist or even make a donation. (MC)
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To celebrate the early Chicago house music scene’s influence on artist Nick Cave, the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center (740 E. 56th Pl.) is hosting Power of the Party: Chicago House and Nick Cave from 1-5 PM. The event kicks off with a conversation in the DuSable’s theater between DJ Lori Branch and performer, historian, and writer Meida Teresa McNeal about how elements of the house party scene manifest in Cave’s “Forothermore” exhibit (on view at the MCA until October 2). They will also be joined by DJ Wayne Williams. The day is also an opening event for “The Color Is,” an exhibition at the DuSable featuring work from Nick and his brother, the fashion designer and artist Jack Cave (on view until November). Branch will close out the day with a two-hour music set starting at 3 PM in the plaza outside of the museum’s Roundhouse. The entire day is free to attend and open to all ages; registration is encouraged at Eventbrite. (MC)
Circles & Ciphers, a hip-hop inspired and youth focused restorative justice organization, hosts the free block party CC on the Block today. There will be food, dancing, wellness information, activities, and . . . hip-hop! The fest starts at 2 PM at 1615 W. Morse, and performances kick off at 5 PM. Some of the participating artists include the Stick and Move Crew, DJ Savvylo, Kira Janel, Nathaniel Viets-VanLear, and more. For more information, see Circles & Ciphers’s Instagram. (MC)
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project brings together its eight Chicago member companies in one concert with Reclamation: The Spirit of Black Dance in Chicago at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion. (Read Irene Hsiao’s feature here.) The CBDLP grew out of a 2019 study, Mapping the Dance Landscape in Chicagoland, which revealed that three majority-white dance institutions received 56 percent of the grant dollars awarded in the city; despite making up 31 percent of the dance community, Black artists struggle to achieve sustainable levels of support and visibility. Through a partnership with the Logan Center for the Arts and the Joyce Foundation, the CBDLP provides institutional support in a number of critical areas, including training, marketing, and collaborative programming. Tonight’s performance is the first time that these eight companies (who will also be joined by M.A.D.D. Rhythms) have all shared the same stage. It starts at 6:30 PM, and is free, but reservations are requested through eventbrite.com. (KR)
