Chicago Neighborhood News: Virtual, Citywide
Virtual: While we can’t visit the Museum of Science and Industry this year for their annual Christmas Around the World exhibit, we can still experience the sights from the comfort of our homes. The museum provides free 45-minute virtual tours of this magnificent holiday display featuring over 30,000 lights covering the trees along with the stories connected to each one from MSI’s Manager of Volunteer Projects, Kristina Wilkes. According to the museum’s website, the next live viewing will be on December 18th at 3:30 pm. Find more info here.
Citywide: Now through December 24th, you can catch Santa and his reindeer making their way through the city with the CTA Holiday Train and Bus annual event. While we can’t climb onboard this year due to the pandemic, we can still get a glimpse of Santa throughout the month as he rides the rails in all of our favorite Chicago neighborhoods. Santa’s train car is decked out in seasonal images and adorned with twinkling lights, which will bring a smile to even the biggest scrooge among us. Even though passengers cannot board the “out of service” holiday trains and buses to ensure social distancing, it will be a welcoming sight and bring a feeling of joy in a year that can definitely use some. Check ahead of time to see when you catch Santa making his way through your neck of the woods. Find more info here.
Virtual: This holiday season, Manuel Cinema uses its interdisciplinary performance collective to create a truly unique and virtual version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This 60-minute performance performed live from Manuel Cinema’s Chicago stage studio uses hundreds of puppets, miniatures, and a live score to retell the classic tale. In this version, Christmas skeptic Aunt Trudy is recruited to stage A Christmas Carol puppet show for her family via Zoom. As Trudy begins to feel the holiday spirit, the puppets take on a life of their own, resulting in a one of a kind retelling of this beloved story. The next streaming performance is Wednesday, December 9th, and continues until Sunday, December 20th. Individual tickets are $15 per household, or you can purchase viewing for two to three viewers for $30. Find more info here.
Virtual: Celebrated musician and songwriter Andrew Bird usually performs multiple nights at Fourth Presbyterian Church around this time of year to the delight of Chicago music lovers. However, this year as we know, live performances aren’t in the cards. You can still catch Bird perform his annual “Gezelligheid” concert via streaming on December 13th at 6 pm. This year, Bird will perform a cozy violin set live from California’s mountains, including highlights throughout his storied career. Tickets are $20 for an advanced streaming pass and $25 for a day of streaming pass on the 13th. Included with each purchase is an archival streaming performance of Bird’s 2013 set from the Fourth Presbyterian Church right here in Chicago. Find more info here.
ERIC KAPLAN AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO
