Chicago Neighborhood News: West Loop, Wicker Park and Bucktown, Evanston, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Andersonville

West Loop: Take your urban shopping cart skills to the next level with this year’s Chiditarod kicking off March 7 outside Cobra Lounge in the West Loop. Part mobile food drive, part bar crawl, and part shopping cart race, Chiditarod offers participants the chance to dress up as wacky as they can while delivering non-perishable food via shopping carts to local bars along a specific route. The food collected at this free event benefits the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Find more info here.

Wicker Park and Bucktown: Lego is a serious business these days with movies and TV shows bringing the longtime fan favorite activity to the masses. Show off your skills this Monday, March 2, from 4 pm to 5 pm during Lego Club at Building Blocks Wicker Park located at 2071 W. Division. Trade pieces, take part in the monthly Lego challenge, and have your creations featured in the storefront window. Find more info here.  

Evanston: For the second year in a row, Studio5 in Evanston will be one of the spots hosting the Chi-Town Jazz Festival. Kicking off Friday, March 6, at 8 pm, Studio5 will present two sets featuring the Leandro Lopez Varady Trio followed by the Alexander/McLean Project. Tickets are $20 -25, and proceeds go towards supporting hunger relief in Chicago. Find more info here.

Lincoln Park: Halloween was over months ago, but that’s no reason to keep the scary away till next October in Chicago. Join the Lincoln Park Ghost Tour on March 6, at 8 pm departing from the Chicago History Museum located at 1601 N. Clark. This on-foot ghost tour covers all the haunted historical happenings in Lincoln Park from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre to the ghosts of Lincoln Park Zoo and much more! Tickets are $29. Find more info here.

Lakeview: Cinema buffs get ready to be in celluloid heaven as the Music Box Theater presents the 70mm Film Festival from March 5 to the 19th. Classic flicks like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Untouchables, and West Side Story, as well as newer cinematic masterpieces like Interstellar and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, will be shown in breathtaking 70mm prints throughout the fest. Find more info here.

Andersonville: Today marks the start of the Nordic Spirit Festival taking place at the Swedish American Museum located at 5211 N. Clark. The free festival, which runs until Sunday, March 1, features five staged readings of new plays from writers hailing from Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Find more info here.

ERIC KAPLAN & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO