Stay up all night at Looptopia
Arts event set to 'transform' downtown with fun until dawn
Five o'clock Friday evening is when most flee their downtown offices for the weekend. After all, who wants to stick around after that grueling work week?
Tonight, however, that will change as Looptopia comes alive for an all-night celebration of the arts in the heart of downtown. The fun begins at 5 tonight and goes until 7 a.m. Saturday.
(Courtesy)
Modeled after similar events that have been held in European capitals, the event is billed as this nation's first annual dusk-till-dawn artistic celebration. Last year's inaugural event drew larger crowds than expected despite unseasonably cool temperatures. By the numbers, this year's forecast calls for some staggering figures: Three-hundred artists, 100 venues and an expected crowd of more than 100,000.
''Looptopia's artistic theme is transformation, and the goal is to transform the built environment into an arts and cultural celebration,'' said Ty Tabbing, Executive Director of the Chicago Loop Alliance. ''Programming partners include the mixed uses the Loop has to offer. The arts are representative of the diversity of disciplines.''
Improvments from last year include measures for better crowd flow, as well as adding more restroom facilities and information booths.
So stick around and stay out late. A complete schedule of events is online at www.looptopia.com.
Here are some picks for what to check out while you're out living in Looptopia:
White Hot Knife:These locals cut through several genres cleanly with their aggressive, downright danceable brand of new wave rock that has garnered airplay on Q101. (9:30-10 p.m., Federal Plaza)
• Blue Ribbon Glee Club: If you've been lamenting the absence of punk-rock a cappella groups, this outfit is here to fill that void. Covering everything from the Pixies to the Dead Kennedys, the unique club numbers between 25-30 and will present songs you've heard before in a whole new way. (6:15-6:45 p.m., Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago)
• The Windy City String Ensemble offers the timeless works of some of the world's most famous composers as Chicago Symphony mezzo-soprano Diane Bryks lends her voice to the docile tones. (7:30-9 p.m., First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple)
• Bang! Bang!: These local rockers prove that boys and girls can play nice together, even if they create aggressive and edgy music. (5-5:30 p.m., Daley Plaza)
• Chicago Children's Museum presents Funky Hats and Face Painting. Young and not-quite-so-young alike can turn a paper bag into their own work of art. (5-9 p.m., Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago).
• Gwen Hilary and Enoch Williamson lead a storytelling session complete with music suitable for children of all ages. (5-9 p.m., Harold Washington Library).
• All ages are invited to hear tales that kids have loved for years (12:45-2 a.m., First United Methodist Church at The Chicago Temple).
• Who doesn't love puppets? Jason's Trusty Puppet Bike rolls into the Loop, bringing along characters like Clover, Lefty and Chock the Pirate. (5-9 p.m., Harold Washington Library)
• Elegant Mr. Gallery sponsors a giant game of hide-and-seek in Millennium Park. (5-6 a.m.)
• Plasticene: Players will line up State Street in lamplight as part of ghostLIGHT. The Sun-Times has praised Plasticene for creating "strange, dizzying, high-impact, psychologically-driven scenarios" (in a good way). (7-10 p.m., State Street Planters)
• The Rubber Monkey Puppet Company: It's been said so many times before, but it bears repeating: Shadow puppetry and percussion were meant for each other. The elastic troupe stretches its experimental improvisational theater muscles (5-10 p.m., Nordstrom Rack).
Who said video games couldn't be educational? Visible Gestures allows users to create artwork on massive projection screens by using a Wii remote as their paintbrush. (5 p.m.-midnight, DePaul Center)
• Broadway in Chicago offers the opportunity for guests to see what it's like under the bright lights of Broadway. Pose for photos (bring your own camera0 under actual-size cutouts of your favorite characters from "Dirty Dancing," "Wicked," "Mary Poppins" and "Jersey Boys." (6-10 p.m., James M. Nederlander Way, behind the Oriental Theatre).
• Chicago Underground Art School and Experiential Fun Fair gives visitors the chance to channel their inner artists by drawing or using claymation. Non-artists can kick back and just enjoy live music and aerial performances. (1-5 a.m., Palmer House Hilton.)
• From the department of redundancy department comes The Game Show Show and Stuff, which features new games, music and, of course, prizes for the winners. (2:50-3:40 a.m., the Auditorium Theatre)
• Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble explores the history of several local neighborhoods in "Chicago Stories." (8:45-9:30 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center)
• Silk Road Theatre Project previews "Durango," a critically acclaimed play about family secrets, identity and alienation. (Midnight, Silk Road Theatre)
Patrons staying after midnight will need a wristband to attend Looptopia activities. Wristbands are free and can be picked up at information booths throughout the night.
• Open containers of alcoholic beverages are prohibited at Looptopia-hosted outdoor locations.
• Late-night snack-seekers can shop CVS and Dunkin Dounts outlets extending their hours to stay open all night.
More info @ www.looptopia.com