Friday 6
Autumn is heavy-duty travel time for midwestern birds, so the Morton Arboretum is offering bird walks for migration watchers. Today’s hike, from 8 to 10:30 AM, is for beginners. Next Saturday’s excursion, also from 8 to 10:30, is for those with previous bird-watching experience. The walks cost $3; bring binoculars and a field guide. The arboretum is at I-88 and Route 53 in Lisle. If you’re registered for the class, there’s no parking fee. Call 968-0074.
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Saint Francis of Assisi was never ordained into the clergy, although he founded a nature-loving order of friars. So you and your favorite animal friend don’t have to be Catholic to join in today’s Saint Francis of Assisi Pet Blessing. Sponsored by the Immaculate Conception Church, the blessing of dogs, cats, horses, frogs, fish, snakes, hamsters, and other creatures starts at 1:30 in the church parking lot at 1415 N. North Park. It’s free. Call 944-1230.
“You can’t leave A Constant State of Desire without discussing it, and you can’t wake up the next morning without really giving it some thought,” wrote San Francisco Chronicle critic Mick LaSalle about Karen Finley’s provocative performance piece. This is your last chance to catch Finley, a native Chicagoan, in her original show, which exploits graphic sexual imagery to comment on consumerism and the current political climate. The piece concludes its local run at 7 tonight at Edge of the Lookingglass, 62 E. 13th St. Tickets are $10. Call 939-4017.
When Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space in April 1961, he completed one full orbit of the planet in just under two hours. Then in May, the U.S. sent Alan Shepard up to orbit for about 15 minutes. Cooperation between the two nations seemed impossible then. No longer. Loren Acton, an American astronaut, and Yuri Victorovich Romanenko, a Soviet cosmonaut, will talk about U.S.-Soviet space exploration during tonight’s presentation, Only One Earth, at 7:30 at Northeastern Illinois University’s Alumni Hall, 5500 N. Saint Louis. Admission is free. Call 583-4050, ext. 3291.
“I wanted to use an extremely well-known piece of music,” says Stephanie Skura about her choice of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony for her modern-dance piece, Cranky Destroyers. “So the juxtaposition of ‘classical’ music with very contemporary movement rides, in its irony, on top of a deeper harmony between dance and music.” Skura and her New York company perform at MoMing Dance & Arts Center, 1034 W. Barry, at 7 tonight. Additional performances are at 8 PM Friday and Saturday, and 3 PM Sunday. $12, $ 10 for students and seniors. Call 472-7662.
