Neighborhood News – Wicker Park/Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Near West Side, Near North Side, Lincoln Square, River North

/in , /by

With temperatures mellowing, it’s time for fun in Chicago! We’ve got playoff basketball, fun fests, and a creative way to celebrate the rites of Spring in Chicago. Enjoy!

All the world loves a clown! From Thursday, April 21 to Sunday, April 24, at Wicker Park/Bucktown’s The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee, bring the kids to the Chicago Circus & Performing Arts Festival featuring traditional circus, avant-garde sideshow and burlesque, family friendly juggling and clowning, and several productions pushing the bounds of traditional dance and circus shows, according to Choose Chicago. For tickets and information, click here.

Rites of Spring. The Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Drive, presents its Spring Flower Show, “ Pillars of Spring”. Imagine your garden in a different way – vertically. Yes, you read it right…planting from the ground upwards! Vertical elements include walls and free-standing pillars covered in geranium, dianthus, larkspur and stock. Azaleas and camellias fill the room with beauty and elegance and visions of spring. The Conservatory is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am–3pm. Free, but a timed entrance requires a ticket. Suggested donations accepted. Through May 8. For tickets, click here.

Fear the deer? Nah! The Chicago Bulls are in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2016. They take on the 2021 World Champion Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 on Friday, April 22, at 7:30pm at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison Street. For tickets, click here.

Gemutlichkeit! Lincoln Square’s German-American Dank Haus, 4740 N. Western Avenue, unveils a new art exhibit on Friday April 22.”Sicht.Verrückt” (gaze, shifted) by German artist Beate Axmann, from 6pm- 9pm. “In these times,” Axmann writes, “It is critical to shift one’s gaze––to look at issues from multiple angles.” Friday night’s opening reception begins nearly a month of Axmann events, including a panel discussion with Joanna Pinsky of Art Encounter and an all-ages, German-speaking art workshop. For more information, click here.

Thank You for Being a Friend! Fans of ‘The Golden Girls’ (1985-92) TV show can reminisce with surviving cast/guest stars Bonnie Bartlett (villain Barbara Thorrndyke), Monte Markham (Blanche’s brother Clayton), and Dinah Manhoff (Carol Weston), among many others associated with the wildly popular sitcom at Golden Con: Thank You For Being a Fan  from Friday, April 22 to Sunday, April 24 at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue. Other features include autograph sessions with stars and producers, “The Biggest Gift” Vendor’s Market, ‘Grab That Dough’ Trivia Show,  and ‘Picture it…Back in St. Olaf Story Slam Contest.’ For tickets and information, click here. 

Glazed, frosted or filtered? Picture a world filled with nothing but donuts, mimosas and beer. Then, head to Moe’s Cantina, 155 W. Kinzie Street,for Chicago Donut Fest on Saturday, April 23 from 12pm – 4pm and taste some of the most delicious donuts in Chicago! For tickets, click here.

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago