MAY
The Old Town School of Folk Music’s Dylan tribute class performs the songs of Bob Dylan’s 1978 album Street Legal tonight at the school’s monthly “First Friday” party and concert. The affair kicks off with a song circle and jam at 6:30; the Dylan songs come at 8 PM, and an open “strumathon” follows. It’s at the school, 909 W. Armitage; admission is $4. Call 525-7793 for more.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Joe Mantegna, the epitome of tortured cool in plays like Glengarry Glen Ross and movies like House of Games and Things Change, reads from “literature he admires” today at 2 at a Poetry Center of Chicago event in the Rubloff Auditorium of the Chicago Historical Society, 1601 N. Clark. It’s $15. Call 368-0905.
Last week we had the 20th anniversary of the fall of Saigon; this week it’s the half-century mark of a less morally muddled occasion: V-E Day. To observe the anniversary, today at noon at the Daley Center, Washington and Dearborn, Jack Brickhouse will give a dramatic reading of the address President Truman gave to the nation in the wake of Germany’s unconditional surrender. V-E Day at the Daley Center also includes a performance by the Chicago City Orchestra. It’s free. Call 642-5392.
The annual Friends of Downtown awards salute those who’ve made the city a better place architecturally. Categories include best new building and best new open space. This year’s ceremony is tonight at 5:30 at the Chicago Athletic Association, 12 S. Michigan. Admission is $15. Call 726-4031.
Thousands of visitors and 165 art dealers from around the world will take over Navy Pier’s newly renovated exhibition facility for Art 1995 Chicago. The international art show kicks off tonight at 6:30 with “Vernissage ’95,” a benefit for the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tickets start at $125; call 280-2660 for info. Hours for the exhibition are noon to 8 tomorrow through Monday, May 15, and noon to 6 on Tuesday, May 16. Admission is $10, $7 for students and seniors. Three-day passes are available for $20 and five-day passes for $30. Navy Pier is at Illinois and the lake. Call 587-3300 for more.
