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Our picks this time include a series of concerts and gatherings for the long holiday weekend.
This event at the Hyde Park Center for the Arts celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Activities include folklore stories, shadow puppets and printmaking. Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery will feature a pop-up store focused on Afrofuturism and science fiction, and the Chicago Chamber Ensemble Civic Orchestra will perform music by Black composers.
Jan. 15, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hyde Park Arts Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave.; It’s free, registration is recommended at: hydeparkart.org
Lifeline Theatre’s 27th annual Solo Festival opens this weekend and features two weeks of storytelling and live lighting at two venues in Rogers Park, with performances from Jonathan Pitts (“My Father, His Chimp, and A Serial Killer”), Nestor is formed. Gomez (“80 Minutes Around the World”), Shalaka Kulkarni (“Nyra’s Dreams”) and dozens of others. Stories will range from comedy to tragedy, from the personal to the universal, from the local to the international.
Jan. 12-24 at Lifeline Theater (6912 N. Glenwood Ave.) and South of the Border (1416 W Morse Ave.); Tickets from $12 (single entry) to $45-60 (festival ticket) lifelinetheatre.com
The prolific rapper and trap pioneer is on the UIC campus with Chicago Winterjam.
8 p.m. Jan. 12, UIC Dorin Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road; tickets start at $89 www.ticketmaster.com
Chicago Institute of Music hosts the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. presents its Celebration; a free concert featuring violinist Hannah White, a new work by Nyandeng Juag from the Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency, a performance by the Chicago Institute of Music Chorale and others. . (Also broadcast live.)
3 p.m. Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; free reservations required musicinst.org
Guests can explore the Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition, featuring works by professional and amateur Black artists from around the country. Artist Raven Smith will be leaving an event about color psychology.
Jan. 15, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive; Events and activities are included with museum admission, for more information: msichicago.org
California musician part DJ, part online provocateur, part dance-pop artist, part many things. He’s bringing his Alone in a Crowd tour to the Aragon Ballroom.
8 p.m. Jan. 13, Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave.; tickets $60.75 (ages 17+) www.livenation.com
This family-friendly event at the Chicago History Museum will include musical performances and interactive activities. Typewritten poems of Poems While You Wait and Busy Beaver Button Co. There will be a screening of the button production “Mighty Times: The Children’s March”.
Jan. 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.; Included with general admission, free for Illinois residents on January 15, for more information: chicagohistory.org
The 37th Cubs Con brings together fans, players and front office faces for all kinds of events, including panel chats, autograph sessions, merchandise sales and auctions and more.
Jan. 12-14, Sheraton Grand Chicago, 301 E. North Water St.; exceeds $125 on weekends www.mlb.com
Satisfy your thirst for adventure this weekend at the annual fair focused on all things travel. Keynote speakers include travel writer Rick Steves, Phil Rosenthal (Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil”) and Pauline Frommer of Frommer’s Guides.
Jan. 13-14, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, Rosemont; tickets $13-$26 travelshows.com