This post was submitted by adam

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Event Details: CHI Weekend Preview: Diversity Edition! - :

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Since I’m not a Chicago native, I’m still suprised at how many cultural festivals, fest and parties are organized every single weekend. No matter what nationality, cultural background, or music genre lover you are, Chicago has a festival or event for you and other people who love the same things you do. Art opening? Check. Music at the zoo? Check. Art fest? Check. Greekfest? Check. Latin Music? Check. Gay improv? Check.

Thursday August 26th

• Participating Bars in Chicago will donate a portion of their sales to AIDSCare. As an additional fundraiser, Bar AIDS Ambassadors will be assigned to each bar to sell raffle tickets, mingle with patrons, and get the word out about AIDSCare and Bar AIDS.  Raffle prizes include, two roundtrip Delta Air Lines travel certificate to Hawaii or anywhere in Central America, courtesy Orbitz.com, $300 gift certificate to Blackbird, one of Chicago’s West
  Loop’s sleekest and most admired fine dining restaurants, one-night stay in a deluxe guestroom at the Hotel Allegro in Chicago’s Theatre District, plus a $50 gift certificate to 312 Chicago. Check out AIDSCare for a list of bars.

Friday August 27th

• The Center on Halsted is hosting two Art Gallery openings in one night! Rob Porazinski’s Transformer (2nd Floor Gallery), A World in Flux: Images that explore the transitory nature of our world, self-perceptions and relationships and Liz Wuerffel’s Looking for Lala (3rd Floor Gallery). Chicago artist Liz Wuerffel explores queer life in Beijing through her photographs and stories in “Looking for Lala.” Center on Halsted, 3656 N Halsted St, 6:30pm,  $5 Suggested Donation.
• Berlin will host The Sarcastic Squad’s Sausage Fest. ‘Squad will use a dueling stage arena with two stages, facing each other and separated by fifteen feet where the standing room audience will congregate. Each act will alternate stages and some will roam freely through the crowd during their performance. The sprawl structure makes the audience the center of the show combining short, fast-paced stand-up, sketch and musical improvisation to create an innovative and interactive event. Berlin, 954 Belmont Ave, 10pm, $5.
• Lincoln Park Zoo presents Jammin at the Zoo, an outdoor concert series. This month presents Angel Taylor and Five for Fighting. Lincoln Park Zoo, Cannon Drive & Fullerton, 6pm, 23/advance, 28 day of.

Saturday August 28th

• Harris Theater for Music and Dance will host Dance for Life. Proceeds benefit the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, AIDSCare, Center on Halsted, and the Dance for Life Fund. Participating companies include: Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, River North Chicago Dance Company, plus one additional exciting dance company. Also taking to the stage will be a World Premiere Finale by, renowned choreographer of stage and screen, Randy Duncan. New this year will be the addition of a World Premiere collaborative work by Harrison McEldowney. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Drive, 7:30, $75.
• Equality Illinois presents Pie Toss, an event where you can bid on the opportunity to toss a pie in the face of many people of Chicago’s LGBT community including: Michael Cook, President of Howard Brown Health Center; TPAN’s Rhett Lindsay; ChicagoPride.com’s Bill Pritchard; Tracy Baim of Windy City Times; Mark Liberson, owner of Hydrate; Art Johnston, owner of Sidetrack; State Representative Sarah Feigenholtz and more. Special Appearance by Cleve Jones, Advisor to Harvey Milk. Sidetrak, 3349 N Halsted St, 2pm, Free entry.
• Bucktown Arts fest is a full two day art festival for all! From its roots as a small gathering of local artisans to its current incarnation as one of Chicago’s premier gatherings of painters, sculptors, photographers and craftspeople (not to mention musicians, actors, poets, and dancers), the fest puts the spotlight squarely on that mysterious amalgam of inspiration and perspiration that delights the eye and stirs the soul. Senior Citizens Memorial Playlot Park (c/o Holstein Park), 2238 N. Oakley Ave, 11am, Free.
• The Taste of Greece is an two day adventure that offers the sights, sounds and taste that is all Greece.
  Stroll Halsted Street in Greektown and sample the fine Greek delicacies that Chicagoans have grown to love. If you haven’t tried all the famous restaurants on Halsted, this is a great time to sample and taste favorites and specialties that take you throughout Greece and Cyprus. Halsted Street between Van Buren and Monroe Streets, 12 pm, Free.
• Dance to cumbia, merengue, salsa and more at the 21st annual Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival of sounds from around the world. Also features food vendors and an arts and crafts fair. Grant Park Museums
  300 S. Columbus Drive, 11am, free.

Sunday August 29th

• WCBP along with Affinity Community Services, Coalition for Justice and Respect, and Youth Pride Services formed an alliance called the Social Justice Alliance. We have a mixer every 5th Sunday. Our first initiative is finding proactive means to address the increase in the incidence of reported HIV/AIDS cases among Black men. We will have a panel discussion and opportunities for testing. Cover is $5 for those over 18 and free for those under 18. Affinity Community Services, 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave., Garden Level, 60637, 2pm, Free.
  

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