Friday / April 10
Sip on cocktails (if you’re legal) and play with clay at the monthly Cocktails and Clay event at the Hyde Park Art Center. The party starts after the art center is closed, so take your time exploring exhibits, making art, and dancing the night away. (5020 South Cornell Avenue, 8 p.m., $15 suggested donation)
Saturday / April 11
Enjoy the atmosphere of Casino Royale without the high stakes at the Citylights 2009 Poker Tournament. Instead of winning real money, the winner of the tournament will get $200 to donate to a charity of his or her choice. If you’re not up to par, be sure to attend the free lectures on the mechanics of poker by professors Alan Bester and James Leister. (6 p.m., Ida Noyes Hall, $10)
Sunday / April 12
Bay Area indie rock band Dredg’s music may not exude the warmth and sunniness California currently enjoys, but their song titles (“Ode to the Sun,” “Planting Seeds”) sure do. The band is on tour in anticipation of its record The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion due to be be released in June. Dredg will be appearing with Torche and From Monuments to Masses. (1305 North Western Avenue, 9 p.m., $18, 21+)
Train wreck and paparazzi lover Lily Allen will be bringing her act to the states. The Brit, who was recently spotted singing a cover of “Womanizer” with fellow troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan, is currently on tour to promote her newly released album It’s Not Me, It’s You. She will be appearing with Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (the band, not the actress’ shaved head). (4746 North Racine Avenue, 6 p.m., $26.50)
Monday / April 13
Civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, Sr., will be speaking in an event hosted by the University Community Service Center. Although doors will open at 4:30 p.m., be sure to register online at ucsc.uchicago.edu to guarantee admission. (Max Palevsky Cinema, 5 p.m., free)
Tuesday / April 14
As part of its Asian American Showcase, the Gene Siskel Film Center will be playing films that critically examine Asian
American identity. The feature film on Tuesday is Dim Sum Funeral, in which the death of a matriarch brings an eclectic and estranged family of philanderers, movie stars, and businessmen together for a traditional seven day–long Chinese
funeral. The film also stars Hollywood seat warmer Bai Ling. (164 North State Street, 8 p.m., $7)
Wednesday / April 15
Lead singer Tyson Ritter’s looks may have faded, but the All American Rejects are still going strong. The band is still
working the concert circuit promoting its latest record When the World Comes Down and was even going to headline the Honda
Civic Tour until the recent economic downturn forced its cancellation. Instead, the All American Rejects will be performing with Shiny Toy Guns. (1106 West Lawrence Avenue, 6 p.m., $27.50)
Even if you do not know where the tiny Central Asian republic of Tuva is, be sure to catch Tuvan throat singing group Alash. The ensemble uses a technique developed by nomadic horseman of singing multiple pitches. Alash is known for mixing traditional and contemporary influences. (International House, 7 p.m., free)
Thursday / April 16
While the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland is the classic that gives most young children recurring nightmares, there is also Paramount’s 1933 version of Alice in Wonderland starring Cary Grant, W.C. Fields, and Gary Cooper, among others. This version is mainly live-action, except for “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” (Max Palevsky Cinema, 9 p.m., $5)
