Love, love, live, love, lobotomy, love. Valentine’s Day is upon us next week (I know, already!) and even those of us who usually eschew the holiday might want to at least spend some time reaching out and tending to our nearest and dearest. Let’s let them know that as soon as these antidepressants kick in, we’ll find them desirable.
OK, perhaps some of you have kept the love flowing with no hitches for the past few months, and every day is filled with a bountiful amount of squeezes, heart-shaped candies, and spontaneous #lovewithnofilter selfies of the two of you on the ol’ Insta feed. Good for you, she writes while raising an eyebrow. Here are a few happenings next week to help you celebrate your coupling, make new friends, or commiserate with fellow anti-Valentiners.
Socials for singles:
- Thu 2/11, 7 PM: Peach Presents teamed up with LGBTQ matchmaker Kara Laricks to put together the Peach Zoom Social, a part-speed dating/part low-key social event with breakout rooms, all to benefit Center on Halsted. Tickets and information are at peachpresents.com.
- Sat 2/13, 5-10 PM: The Latin Street Music and Dancing studio hosts an in-person Valentine’s Day Social open to those 18 and up, with limited capacity and masks required. Get there earlier in the evening to take a lesson in salsa and bachata dancing by Latin Street instructors. Tickets available at latinstreetdancing.com.
Make me laugh:
- Thu 2/11, Sat 2/13, and Sun 2/14, all at 7 PM: Laugh Factory hosts three online comedy nights featuring Pat Tomasulo, Sarah Perry, Correy Boyd-Bell, Paul Farahvar, and more. Thursday’s show includes a virtual trivia competition. Ticket holders for any of these shows are also eligible for free delivery when they order dinner through the Foxtrot service. Tickets and information are at laughfactory.com.
Yes, this is for two, why do you ask? :
- You can pre-order the Lechon Package from A Taste of the Philippines’s stall at the Chicago French Market downtown and thoroughly impress that special someone with a spread of lechon cooked in the style of Cebu, pancit, ube doughnuts and more. Orders are accepted through Friday 2/12 and you’ll need to pick it up on Saturday 2/13 in person. E-mail, call or message the restaurant for more information.
Tears Dry on Their Own, because you couldn’t even buy me tissues.
- Sat 2/13, 8 PM: Ukrainian Village boutique The Fox Club collaborated with the Fulton Street Collective to host a tribute to the music of Amy Winehouse with singer Sally Blandon and her band. The livestream is free to watch but donations will be accepted for the musicians.
I’ll be going shopping instead because knick knacks don’t think I’m being “needy”:
- Fri 2/12-Sun 2/14: With Love From Andersonville sends a little dollar bill love as participating neighborhood businesses give back 14 percent or more of their sales over the weekend to local charities and nonprofits. A list of participating businesses can be found here.
Coming up:
- Sat 2/6, 4 PM: Canadian emo/post-hardcore band Silverstein plays the first of three February online concerts.
- Sun 2/7, 2 PM: Chicago writer and art historian Rebecca Zorach gives an online talk about abolition art for the Evanston Art Center’s free lecture series.
- Mon 2/8-Sun 2/28, anytime: Rogers Park’s Lifeline Theatre presents the 24th annual Fillet of Solo Festival of solo performance featuring work by Rose Abdoo, Kurt Naebig, and more, including storytelling collectives like Stir-Friday Night and OUTSpoken. Tickets are available with a donation.
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