Labor Day weekend has arrived (finally!). Sleep in, graze during a long brunch, then head out to some the recommended goings-on about town. In addition to the Chicago Jazz Festival and North Coast Music Festival, here are some of our other favorites happening during the holiday weekend:
Fri 9/1: Chicago flies in some east-coast crustaceans (the cockroaches of the sea) for the Great American Lobster Fest, so the midwest can enjoy some Chesapeake summer at Navy Pier (600 E. Grand). More than 25 bands rock as the lobster shells crunch. Noon-10 PM
Fri 9/1: Stand-up with a very big twist. Each week during Wet Cash, performers can do anything they want at Dark Tower Comics (4835 N. Western). One time, everybody on the bill was named Derek. Plus, all donations benefit the fishbowl producers toss their money in—hence the title. Expect, well, everything. 8 PM, donations accepted
Sat 9/2: A half-dozen directors, and the same number of playwrights, start writing and ideating about plays at 7:30 PM on Friday and have a mere day to complete their work and put it onstage during the 24-Hour Fest at the Berger Park Cultural Center (6205 N. Sheridan). 7:30 PM, $15
Sat 9/2: The Old Lazarus’ Harp Folk Collective hosts the Sing and Stomp, a day of old-timey music, barn dancing, and honky-tonk two-stepping at the Beat Kitchen (2100 W. Belmont). 2 PM-midnight, $15
Sun 9/3: Mycology, the study of mushrooms, is a noble profession subject to unjust ridicule from hippies and fungi pun-masters alike. Learn more about different cap sizes from Chicago’s mycologists at the Annual Mushroom Show, a convention taking place at the Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe). 10 AM-4:30 PM, free
Sun 9/3: Melding traditional Indian dance, Western movement, and the martial art form kalaripayattu, Prakriti: A History of the Present at Congressional Church of Jefferson Park (5320 W. Giddings) explores our unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from our own. 8:30 PM, $10
Mon 9/4: Polish food, carnival rides, and a full casino return to Copernicus Center (5216 W. Lawrence) for the annual Taste of Polonia festival—extending through Labor Day weekend. Of course, lots of Polish beer will be on tap. Through 9/4: Fri 5-10:30 PM, Sat and Sun noon-10:30 PM, Monday noon-10 PM
Mon 9/4: At Herold, an all-women cast perform iO’s (1501 N. Kingsbury) signature long-form improv style the Harold, in which an opening abstract scene inspires more grounded scenes that tell recurring stories throughout the roughly half-hour-long set. 8 PM, $12
For more things to do this weekend—and