Chinatown hip-hop, Summer Skate, Dracula, and dance

Have you hit a summer festival in Chinatown yet? Starting today through Sunday, Hip Hop in Chinatown is happening at Chinatown Square (2133 S. China Pl.), a three-day festival celebrating Chicago hip-hop while subtly intimating the relationship of immigrant communities to music, fashion, and street culture. From 2-9 PM today, there will be a street dance championship featuring both solo and crew performances; today’s judges include award-winning local dancer Kid Nimbus. Saturday includes a dance workshop (sorry, registration has closed) followed by parties, and 2-9 PM Sunday is nonstop local hip-hop music. Oh, and did we mention it’s free? To learn more or see a complete schedule of events, check out the Hip Hop in Chinatown Instagram and event page. (MC)

Enjoy the twilight days of summer with a free outdoor roller disco. The Chicago Park District has teamed up with Vocalo to host Summer Skate at McKinley, a summer skate party, as part of their Night Out in the Parks Series. From 6-9:30 PM, DJ Dreea and DJ All the Way Kay will take turns dropping beats to inspire skaters in McKinley Park’s (2210 W. Pershing) seasonal ice rink, which will be transformed into a roller skating rink for the occasion. Skates will be available to rent for free—but you’re welcome to bring your own! No wheel restrictions. Go to Vocalo Radio’s website to learn more. (MC)

Many people are familiar with Orson Welles’s infamous 1938 radio version of The War of the Worlds, which caused a mass panic when listeners who tuned in late on October 30 thought that an actual Martian invasion was taking place. Less well known is Welles’s Mercury Theatre on the Air version of Dracula from earlier the same year. Now Glass Apple Theatre takes a bite at the material in a new stage adaptation (entitled, sensibly enough, Orson Welles’ Dracula), directed by company founder and artistic director Brian McKnight, who incorporated some material from Bram Stoker’s original not used by Welles. This pre-Halloween fright-show classic opens tonight at Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark) and runs through 9/25 (Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM). Tickets are $25 ($15 students, seniors, military, veterans, and industry); information and reservations at glassappletheatre.com. (KR)

Chicago Dance Crash celebrates 20 years of combining street and concert dance with Booms Day, opening tonight at 7 PM at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts (1016 N. Dearborn) and continuing Fri-Sat 7 PM through 9/10. The framing narrative device is that, after a vague “boom” has taken the fun out of everything, an eight-year-old keeps her distance with only her boombox as company. But soon the apocalyptic landscape becomes more populated, with friends and foes alike, which forces her to confront choices between “friends or family, love or blood, peace or freedom.” Appropriate for all ages, the show is directed by Chicago Dance Crash artistic director Jessica Deahr, written by Mark Hackman, and choreographed by artists from across the country, including Deahr, Crash rehearsal director KC Bevis, Archangels Chicago artistic director Annie Franklin, hip-hop and street dance specialist Jimmy Weeden, and LA-based dancemaker James Gregg. Tickets are $25 adult, $15 12 and under at chicagodancecrash.com. (KR)

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