Wicker Park Fest provides yet another opportunity this summer to experience music, food, arts activities, and booths with local vendors, all while standing in the middle of the street. Music is spread out over three stages on festival grounds, and the lineup features several acts our writers have favorably covered in the past, including Nnämdi on Sunday at 9 PM, Future Rootz with Daniel Crane on Saturday at 8:45 PM, and ÉSSO tonight at 7:45 PM. A full list of performers (with set times) as well as information about family activities and vendors is available at the festival’s website. Festival hours are tonight from 5-10 PM, and Sat-Sun from noon-10 PM; a $10 donation will be requested upon entry. It’s open to all ages and runs along Milwaukee from the Damen, North, and Milwaukee intersection south toward Paulina. (SCJ)
Queer musicians Nathan Kistler (guitar and vocals) and Molly Smith (tap, cajón), known collectively as Them, present Queer as Folk: What Happens in the Parks as part of the city’s Night Out in the Parks series tonight at Webster Park (1357 S. Indiana). They’re joined by special guests Sara Anderson (a vet of Chicago Tap Theatre) and actor-singer-musician Mel Vitaterna in this free music and dance concert celebrating the intersection of queer culture and Them’s music, which found its footing in the parks. It kicks off at 7 PM, and will also be presented 3 PM Sat 7/23 at Berger Park (6204 N. Sheridan) and 7 PM Fri 7/29 at Elm Park (5215 S. Woodlawn). No reservations necessary; information at chicagoparkdistrict.com. (KR)
At 7 PM, Pilsen Community Books (1102 W. 18th) is celebrating the release of Treason to Whiteness is Loyalty to Humanity: The Noel Ignatiev Reader. Noel Ignatiev cofounded the New Abolitionist Society and was a co-editor at Race Traitor, a journal that focused on white people’s role in dismantling white supremacy. For 60 years, he reflected on intersectional liberation strategies and appealed to white working class people who had allowed racist thinking to undermine their class interests. This collection was edited by Geert Dhondt, Zhandarka Kurti, and Jarrod Shanahan, and Kurti and Shanahan—both local professors—will be in-store to discuss the book and answer questions. (MC)
The New Coordinates (formerly known as the New Colony) opens a workshop presentation of American Side Efectos by Debbie Baños, directed by Esteban Arévalo Ibáñez. Baños’s autobiographical comedy, originally presented as a solo show last year, follows her as a young child trying to make sense of her mother’s mysterious medical issues, and as an adult learning to understand what her mother’s immigrant journey from El Salvador to Arkansas meant. In addition to the author, the cast includes Gabby Diaz, Sonja Lynn Mata, Dani Mauleon, and Shannon Leigh Webber. Performances begin tonight at 7:30 PM at the Den (1331 N. Milwaukee) and continue through 7/31, Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM. Tickets are pay what you can; reservations available at thenewcoordinates.org. (KR)