The Blasian March, cofounded in New York by onetime Chicago dancer and performer Rohan Zhou-Lee in the wake of the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests, has grown to encompass other cities, including New Haven and Los Angeles. Now, thanks in part to Columbia College Chicago’s Asian Student Organization, it’s come to Chicago. As Zhou-Lee told Reader contributor Irene Hsiao, “I had noticed so many times at a Black Lives Matter rally you would have a lot of Asian organizers in the background doing safety but you would hear speakers on the mike only thank white people for showing up. I was like, why are we being rendered invisible in this space? That’s not OK.” Their study of the history of Black and Asian American civil rights organizing showed Zhou-Lee how crucial intersectionality has been for both communities. “For Chicago folks, I hope that this rally will help bring a little light in these very dark times in this country, with all the decisions by SCOTUS, with more policing, with the stark increase in gun violence. I hope it will bring folks some hope and help folks build community for more long-term safety,” Zhou-Lee told Hsiao. The speakers include ASO president Kaitlin Venturina; Faith Phillips, a Black Indigenous trans activist and owner of Wish Me Luck Tattoo; and Chipo C. Nyambuya, director of experiential programming and professional development for Loyola University School of Law. The free rally and march kicks off at noon at the Federal Plaza, 216 S. Dearborn; information is available at linktr.ee/blasianmarchchicago. (KR)
Secret Cinema School presents an afternoon and evening of Italy’s Giallo films at Facets (1517 W. Fullerton) from 2-10 PM today. Giallo is a moniker for Italian movies from the 60s and 70s that demonstrate a combination of thriller and horror; these movies are sometimes considered predecessors to the American slasher movies of the 70s and 80s. Fear not though: the organizers strove to keep some sweetness and light available today along side a tough schedule of controversial titles: the event itself is titled Giallo Gelato, and will feature screenings, a gallery show of paintings by Chicago artist Corinne Halbert, and special samples of a made-for-the-event gelato from Sideshow Gelato (available at 5 PM). Movie screenings will include director Lucio Fulci’s 1977 film The Psychic (Sette Note In Nero) at 3 PM and the sleazy and violent Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (directed by Sergio Martino, 1972) at 8 PM. Tickets and more information is available here. (SCJ)
Marvin Tate has been a multidisciplinary creative force in Chicago for decades: poet, storyteller, musician, and sculptor. Now Tate, a native of North Lawndale, has collaborated with Theatre Y, which relocated to the neighborhood a few years ago, on Laughing Song: A Walking Dream. The show, presented in a promenade style outdoors, takes audiences on a four-hour walk around North Lawndale, with performances interspersed throughout (and dinner provided!). It’s not just Tate’s stories that form the backbone for this ensemble-devised piece (the third in Theatre Y’s Camino series). The show also pays homage to George W. Johnson, who became the first Black American recording artist (“Laughing Song” being one of his best-known pieces). As Theatre Y artistic director Melissa Lorraine told Reader contributor Jack Helbig, “We’ve sort of woven together the two men’s lives and experiences and skills, and we are exploring both of them in motion through [North Lawndale].” The performances run Sat-Sun 3-7 PM through 8/28 (starting out at the YMEN Center, 1241 S. Pulaski); the show is free, but reservations required at theatre-y.com. (KR)
There’s some sort of rumor that great music is taking over Chicago this weekend?! It’s true: LA-based psych punkers Dummy are in town, and they’re playing a stacked show at the Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western) with local punk linchpins Stuck and Spread Joy. Punk-infected St. Louis-based synth duo the Mall will be joining them for an all-out assault of the dance floor that will leave your heart pumping and ears bleeding. The show starts at 8:30 PM, and tickets are $15 ($12 in advance). Must be 21 or older, and proof of vaccination is required. (MC)