Friday | February 8
The next installation of Michael Apted’s highly literal coming-of-age story, 56 Up, will play at the Music Box Theatre through February 14. Apted’s career began in earnest when he was hired as a researcher for Granada TV’s Seven Up, an experimental series in which 14 children from diverse neighborhoods and socioeconomic backgrounds across England were interviewed about their day-to-day lives and aspirations. The film crew checks in with the subjects every couple of years to ask new questions and see how old answers have evolved. The project, which was conceived as a way to gauge the strength of the unofficial British class system, is now nearly in its 50th year, and the original interview subjects, as the title of the film would suggest, are each 56 years old. They grow up so fast. 3733 North Southport Avenue. Saturday show times: 2:29 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m.; $7.25–$9.25.
Saturday | February 9
I enjoy a good vegan joke as much as the next omnivore, but I’ll abstain this time out of deference to Agappe and fudgy, cakey things. Regardless of whether you make use of your incisors, satisfy your sweet tooth at Chicago VeganMania’s Valentine’s Day Bake Sale at Ground Control. There will be chocolates, brownies, cookies, and even more meatless wonders prepared by unidentified local bakers. Proceeds will go to benefit the Chicago VeganMania festival—they need your help! 3315 West Armitage Avenue. Starts at noon, free.
But wait, there’s more chocolate. Local semi-annual foodie lit mag, Graze, has hit upon a tasty recipe for friendly competition with their Cocoa Derby, to be held at the Defibrillator Gallery in Noble Square. Chefs from Glazed and Infused, Pleasant House Bakery, Mark Eastbrook, Paper Moon, Guerilla Smiles, and Green Zebra will be judged by Chicagoans who are all foodies in some professional capacity. Graze markets itself as a magazine that focuses on the overall experience of eating at a table, not just the food on it or the people who sit around it (frankly, I think they might be discriminating against floors). They’ve put out their second “Fall” issue by now, but, as you may recall, the release party for their issue was held at the Smart Museum last year in conjunction with their exhibit Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art. 1136 North Milwaukee Avenue. 1–4 p.m., $10.
If you don’t go to the University Chamber Orchestra’s mid-quarter show Land Forms then there’s something the Mahler with you. Ensemble members will be performing a selection from the Austrian composer’s orchestral piece Das Lied von der Erde, as well as “Pastoral” from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. Stay tuned for their Gilbert and Sullivan concert at the end of the quarter. 915 East 60th Street, Performance Hall 074. 8–9:30 p.m., free.
Sunday | February 10
This Valentine’s Day, those three magical words have been conveniently edited down to just one: #ILoveYou. At this month’s V-Day-themed Dose Market, all young and eligible scenesters are encouraged to grab a heart-shaped sticker with a number on it at the door. If you see someone who you find attractive, tweet at the number on the sticker (#dosehearts), and maybe a little birdie will say he/she likes the way you comport yourself too. Everything else is pretty standard—guests can shop at 46 venues and get free punch from Letherbee Distillers. There will be apparel from Samantha McIntosh, Shades of Grey, Aframes Eyewear and many more. Enoch’s doughnuts make the perfect gift for “your significant other.” 435 East Illinois Street.10 a.m.–4 p.m., $8–$10.
Anne Rorimer, author of New Art In the ’60s and ’70s (2004), will be in Swift 106 this afternoon, lecturing on the Joy of the Real: The Reception of “New Art” in 1970s Chicago. Rorimer, who curated contemporary exhibits at the Art Institute throughout the ’70s and ’80s, is giving the talk in conjunction with Logan Center’s ongoing exhibit R.H. Quaytman: Passing Through the Opposite of What It Approaches, Chapter 25. 1025 East 58th Street. 2–3 p.m., free.
