NOVEMBER
Saturday 30
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If you already know what Taurus, Bigfoot, Bear Foot, Grave Digger, Let’s Boogie, and Bad Habit are, you probably don’t need to be reminded that the U.S. Hot Rod Association’s Mud and Monster Truck Racing National Finals run tonight and tomorrow at the Rosemont Horizon. The object of these events is to take one of the aforementioned beasts–12-foot-high, 1,000-horsepower trucks–and drive it through an 80-foot-long pit filled with 30 inches of mud. The fun starts tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 3 at the Rosemont Horizon, 6920 Mannheim in Rosemont. Tickets are $12-$16, four dollars less for kids under 13. Call 708-963-4810 for details.
In the history of design-related contests this probably doesn’t rank up there with the Tribune Tower competition, but it might do more good. Safe Sex Soviet Style is the result of a USSR government competition to promote safer sexual practices; the 30 works of art–which, organizers say, were summarily banned after the competition on the grounds of subject matter–will be on display at the Maya Polsky Gallery tonight. The reception, from 5 to 8, is a benefit for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and part of the national Day Without Art. (Art will be removed or shrouded at the Art Institute, the State of Illinois Gallery, and the Chicago Historical Society, among others.) Tickets are $35, and serigraphs, both signed and unsigned, will be for sale; a $75 ticket includes a signed print. There’ll be caviar, vodka, other Russian food, and Russian music to boot. The gallery is at 311 W. Superior. Call 642-5454 for details.
The dedicated members of the National Geographic Society sponsored the expedition that found the ruins of Machu Picchu, the one that discovered Africa’s oldest human remains, and the first one to the North Pole. The society’s centennial exhibition has finally hit town (the centennial actually fell in 1988) and will be at the Chicago Academy of Sciences, 2001 N. Clark, through January 5. It covers everything: from the start-up of National Geographic to the magazine’s controversial decision to add photographs and on through its distinguished 20th-century journalism and photojournalism. The museum’s open daily 10 to 5. Admission is $1, 50 cents for kids. Call 871-2668.
The Weavers’ Project of Women for Guatemala markets weavings by Guatemalan women and tries to get word out about conditions there. Its event tonight, Dia Del Mercado: Taste of Guatemala IV, will feature a slide show and information update on Guatemala and a children’s presentation; there’ll also be music and food, and imported weavings for sale. It’s at Saint Ita’s Church, 5500 N. Broadway, from 6:30 to 9:30 tonight; admission is $6, $5 in advance. Call 431-1165 for details.
