Friday 1
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The old CrossCurrents club is being resurrected as Cotton Chicago, a new entry in the city’s blues circuit. The club’s owner is James Cotton, master of the blues harp and veteran of jams with the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller, and Johnny Winter. There will be a grand-opening performance by Cotton himself–it’s his birthday–at 10 and midnight tonight at the club, 3204 N. Wilton. Tickets are $8. Call 528-1651 for more.
Saturday 2
If joining the crowd of people in Grant Park and along the shoreline sounds like joining too many sardines in a can, you may want to watch the fireworks from the deck of a cruise ship. The Mercury Cruiseline is offering a special trip tonight; the boat leaves at 9 from the lower level of Wacker Drive at the Michigan Avenue bridge. lt’s $15 for adults, $10 for kids. For more information, call 332-1368.
“If I never want to see a man, I don’t say ‘This isn’t working out,’ or ‘I don’t want to see you anymore,’” explains comic Rita Rudner. “I just say, ‘You know, I love you. I want to marry you. I want to have your children.’ Sometimes they leave skid marks.” This David Letterman favorite will be headlining at George’s, 230 W. Kinzie, today through July 10; Tuesday through Thursday at 8, Friday and Saturday at 8 and 10:30, and Sunday at 8. Tickets are $10 and $12.50. For more information, call 644-2290.
One out of four Illinois couples who want to marry are doing it in neighboring states to avoid the hassle and cost of an HIV test. Required by law since Penny Pullen pushed the panic button and freaked out her legislative colleagues, the HIV test has cost thousands of dollars but turned up only a handful of folks who’d been exposed to the deadly virus. Still, if you’re going to marry here, you have to have the test, so check out South Chicago Community Hospital’s $25 HIV test for newlyweds through September 30. To qualify for the low-cost test, couples and their doctors need to sign a form that’s available by calling 978-7334. The hospital is at 2320 E. 93rd St. To make an appointment, call 978-2000, ext. 5139.
