Friday 15
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Headlining Chicago Authors Read for Rights: Words on the Struggle for Freedom are Margaret Burroughs, cofounder of the DuSable Museum; Leon Forrest, chair of Northwestern’s African American studies department; Larry Heinemann, National Book Award winner; and S.L. Wisenberg, a local writer. They will read from their own writings on human rights as well as works by prisoners of conscience, and will be joined by Amnesty International’s midwest director, Marjory Byler, and Linda Valerian, a Minnesota activist. Sponsored by Amnesty International, the program begins at 7:30 PM at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton. The suggested donation is $5. Call 427-2060.
Saturday 16
At today’s World Music Holiday Concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music, the Nyhabingi Drum Choir will perform music of Jonkanu, an annual Jamaican festival, including chants and dances that are the roots of contemporary reggae. Arnold and Sima Miller, internationally acclaimed performers of Hebrew and Yiddish music, will play Hanukkah songs. And Cuerdas Clasicas, a 15-member string and tambourine ensemble, will join in with traditional Mexican Christmas music. Show time is 3 PM at 909 W. Armitage. Tickets are $8, $6 for members, and $5 for seniors and kids. Call 525-7793.
Christmas peppers, Jerusalem cherries, blue bee balms, paper-white narcissi, winter marigolds, and traditional poinsettias will highlight the Park District’s 77th annual Christmas Flower Show, which runs through January 7 at the Garfield Park and Lincoln Park conservatories. In keeping with the Park District’s 1989 “Salute to France” theme, the exhibits are designed to resemble formal and informal French gardens. The flowers can be seen from 10 to 6 Saturday through Thursday, 9 to 9 Friday, and 9 to 5 on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Garfield Park’s conservatory is at 300 N. Central Park; Lincoln Park’s is at 2400 N. Stockton. Admission is free; a free guide service is available to groups who arrange for it in advance. For information about Garfield Park call 533-1281; about Lincoln Park 294-4770.
The Adding Machine–about individuality, progress, and the age of technology–hasn’t been produced very often since Elmer Rice wrote it in 1923. The script calls for the kinds of scenery changes that require Steppenwolf-like budgets. But the current Hystopolis Puppet Theater production–the troupe’s first for adults–uses shadows, Bunraku, and other tricks to solve the problems. Show time is 8 PM Thursday through Sunday (no performance December 24) at 441 W. North. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors students. Call 787-7387.
