A Halal lifestyle fest, scaly creatures, roller derby matches and island music usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

A semi-pro baseball team once bested the big leagues on the Northwest Side. Geoffrey Baer takes a swing at local baseball history and its “outlaw clubs.”

“The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey” is a wildly creative story about a familiar message brought to life by Chicago actor Joe Foust’s effortless storytelling skills, comic sensibility and emotional range. 

A dispatch from Wisconsin’s Northwoods, where Darren and Genevieve Coady hopes to reel in other Chicagoans who want an old-fashioned vacation experience.

She is a psychotherapist and author of the “Dear Therapist” advice column. Lori Gottlieb tells us about her new book, “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.”

A story from the Wrigley Field bleachers, where one fan’s love for a beer vendor turned her into a baseball artist. 

Longtime Chicago sportswriter Fred Mitchell tells us about his new book as we look back at the Loyola Ramblers’ magical season – just one year ago – when they went all the way to the Final Four.

Fearsome choreography, dazzling dancers and innovative sound and music marked the Chicago debut of Gauthier Dance in a stunning program at the Harris Theater.

High-end designers have always been eager to dress the superstar soprano for both stage roles and concert performances. Renée Fleming tells us about those one-of-a kind creations.

This spring season, Chicago theaters are in full bloom. Theater critic Hedy Weiss recommends new shows on Chicago-area stages, from fun musicals to serious dramas.

A South Side native watches her long-forgotten home movies for the first time in 35 years. What was on them – and how the viewing was made possible.

What do seniors want from Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot? A new survey offers her a wish list.

This edgy new play by Sharyn Rothstein, making its world premiere at Northlight Theatre, deals with the most primal human needs – for shelter, security, a sense of self-worth and love.

More than 2,800 streets make up Chicago’s famous grid, and city planners and developers drew the streets’ names from all sorts of people and places – including some of our own politicians.

Food fests decidated to bacon and donuts, an epic pillow fight, an artisan market and political posters usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Alan Menken performs his delightful one-man show to a packed house in the Loop as his first hit musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” receives a terrific production on the North Side.