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Today

Kevin Nealon: Brushes with Fame with Tim Meadows

Join Saturday Night Live alum, standup comedian, and caricature artist Kevin Nealon for an evening of stories: from backstage at SNL with Chris Farley and Dana Carvey to hanging out in Tiffany Haddish's vegetable garden. At CHF, Nealon will chat with former SNL castmate Tim Meadows about his new book I Exaggerate: My Brushes with […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

The Church, State, & the Information Crisis in America

What happens when people get their news from the pulpit? At CHF, Bonnie Kristian (author of Untrustworthy and columnist at Christianity Today), Russell Moore (Editor in Chief at Christianity Today), and David French (senior editor at The Dispatch) unpack this question. Join them for a discussion about the power the evangelical church wields in shaping […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

The Art of the Short Story with George Saunders

Heralded as the “best short-story writer in English” by Time, and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders is the perfect author to help us make sense of our era through fiction. At CHF, Saunders sits down with Peter Sagal for a chat about his latest collection Liberation Day, […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

The Art of the Short Story with George Saunders

Heralded as the “best short-story writer in English” by Time, and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders is the perfect author to help us make sense of our era through fiction. At CHF, Saunders sits down for a chat about his latest collection Liberation Day, featuring timely short […]

  • Assistive Listening Devices
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  • In Person

Margaret A. Burnham on the Jim Crow Legal System

“If a law can’t protect a person from lynching, isn’t lynching the law?” asks Margaret A. Burnham, director of Northeastern University’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, in her new […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

A Conversation with Legendary Reporter Seymour Hersh

Seymour Hersh has been at the forefront of investigative journalism ever since his Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé of the Vietnam War’s Mỹ Lai Massacre. At CHF, Hersh sits down with David […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Sudhir Venkatesh on Gun Violence

Mass media rarely tells a three-dimensional story of violence in Chicago, but sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh does. At CHF, Venkatesh goes beyond perfunctory news coverage for a story about a community […]

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  • In Person
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Michael Shermer: Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories

The public has always been fascinated by conspiracy theories, but lately more people have started believing in them: from speculations about John F. Kennedy’s assassination to notions that 9/11 was […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Inside the American Presidency with Pete Souza & David Axelrod

As Official White House Photographer for both Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan and author of The West Wing and Beyond, Pete Souza has a unique window into how our democracy […]

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  • In Person

Swing State

It's hard to know who your friends are in a world that's more divided than ever. Tony Award-winner Robert Falls and his longtime collaborator, Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright Rebecca Gilman, […]

  • ASL Interpreted

Margo Price

We often hear the legends of a musician’s “big break,” but what happens before that? In her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It, Grammy-nominated country singer-songwriter Margo Price gets real about […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Jeff Garlin: Our Man in Chicago

Jeff Garlin is a man of many talents: he is a writer, producer, director, actor, photographer, and stand-up comedian. His impressive filmography includes: Curb Your Enthusiasm, WALL-E, Toy Story 3 […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Extremism in America: Pushing Back on Radicalism & Saving our Democracy

America is witnessing a frightening trend: the rise of extremist groups, like the Proud Boys, infiltrating our politics. At CHF, leading extremism reporter Andy Campbell (author of We Are Proud […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Will Bunch on the Higher Education Divide

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Will Bunch calls higher education the great political and cultural fault line of American life. Join Bunch and Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Undergraduate Studies, […]

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  • In Person
  • Large Print Programs
  • Sensory Friendly
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Innocent & Behind Bars with Daniel S. Medwed

At CHF, renowned legal scholar Daniel S. Medwed explains how America’s judicial system is stacked against the innocent. Join him and Lake Forest College legal studies professor Stephanie Caparelli for […]

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  • In Person
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  • Wheelchair Accessible

Miranda July on Art in All its Forms

Miranda July has gained a cult following over the span of her award-winning career as a filmmaker (Me and You and Everyone We Know and Kajillionaire), writer (No One Belongs […]

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  • In Person
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  • Wheelchair Accessible

Rick Lowe on the Transformative Power of Public Art

For artist and MacArthur Fellow Rick Lowe, art doesn't only hang on walls in museums, art is all around us. Art is street murals celebrating Black-owned businesses. Art is the […]

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  • Wheelchair Accessible

FUN FIT FLEX CHICAGO

We invite you to our newest fundraising campaign, in which we raise awareness and funds for people with myositis. Funds will help patient programs, enhance professional education efforts, and research […]

  • Free Event
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Black Women Will Save the World with April Ryan

It’s time—and long overdue—for everyone to acknowledge Black women’s unrivaled contribution to American life and democracy. At CHF, trailblazing White House correspondent April Ryan highlights the incredible work of “sheroes” […]

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  • In Person

Celebrating the Poets of Forms & Features (Online)

Join us for a reading and celebration of the diverse voices, rich experiences, and powerful words of poets from around the country, and the world. Participants from the online poetry […]

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Chicago International Film Festival – Bard (Open Captions)

DIRECTED BY Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir RUN TIME 87 minutes SYNOPSIS If This Is Spinal Tap had been centered on an all-female group of Icelandic performance-artist musicians, it would look a lot […]

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Holland Cotter Lecture

Join us in person for a lecture by art critic Holland Cotter followed by an audience Q&A. Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall, 111 S. Michigan Ave. (doors […]

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  • Free Event
  • In Person
  • Wheelchair Accessible

Everyone At Play

Kohl Children’s Museum was specifically designed to be inclusive of all children and adults regardless of ability. The Museum’s 17 exhibits and 2 acres of outdoor explorations are designed for […]

  • Free Event
  • In Person
  • Quiet Spaces
  • Sensory Friendly

Chicago International Film Festival – Art and Pep (Open Captions)

DIRECTED BY Mercedes Kane RUN TIME 88 minutes SYNOPSIS Art Johnston and Pepe Peña are civil rights leaders whose celebrated gay bar Sidetrack has helped fuel movements and create community on Chicago’s Halsted Street for decades. Bringing together a wealth of archival video footage, photographs, and lively animated sequences, Art and Pep chronicles the story […]

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Chicago International Film Festival – The Year Between (Open Captions)

DIRECTED BY Alex Heller RUN TIME 95 minutes SYNOPSIS Making her darkly funny assured feature debut, Chicago filmmaker Alex Heller writes, directs, and stars as a defiantly independent woman struggling to get her life back on track. Kicked out of college for bad behavior, cranky and acerbic Clemence returns to her suburban Chicagoland home where […]

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Modern Poetry: Gabriel Ojeda-Sagué’s Madness

Al Filreis will conduct a collaborative close reading of poems from Gabriel Ojeda-Sagué's book Madness (Nightboat, 2022). Participants include Laynie Browne, Al Filreis, Lisa Fishman, and Gabriel Ojeda-Sagué himself. A recording of this event will be made available in a free open-to-all online course called ModPo (on modern & contemporary U.S. poetry) hosted by the […]

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Chicago International Film Festival – Open Caption Screenings

DIRECTED BY Christopher Burke RUN TIME 82 minutes SYNOPSIS Chicago power-couple Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya, who met and fell in love during the 2008 Obama campaign, found their world upended by Brian’s diagnosis of ALS when he was only 37. Given just six months to live, the otherwise healthy former athlete and lawyer at […]

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Award-winning Comedian Iliza Shlesinger

Comedian and actress Iliza Shlesinger, fresh off of filming her sixth Netflix special, is known for her no holds barred stand-up and hyper-relatable storytelling. Shlesinger, who recently wrote and starred in the Netflix film Good on Paper, takes CHF’s stage to speak with Britt Julious for a hilarious and insightful evening on her new book, […]

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  • In Person

The Notebook

The Notebook is a new musical based on the bestselling novel that inspired the iconic film. Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart, in a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love. Broadway directors Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, […]

  • Captioning
  • Pay What You Can

The Notebook

The Notebook is a new musical based on the bestselling novel that inspired the iconic film. Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart, in a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love. Broadway directors Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, […]

  • Captioning
  • Pay What You Can

Resilience Series (monthly)

Join us on the 2nd Monday of each month in G.A.R. Hall to build resilience through artist-led sessions of various creative modalities. Resilience helps deal with difficult challenges with flexibility and creativity. The Resilience Series is open to anyone interested in exploring art as a healing practice. All programs are free and open to the […]

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BWBTC Shakespeare: Richard III

Aligned with the mission of representing marginalized voices, BWBTC has partnered with UIC’s Disability Cultural Center to tell the tale of the malicious Richard of Gloucester. Casting both non-disabled and disabled actors, this production will not only examine stage combat as a storytelling tool, but interrogate the divide between “regular” theatre and “theatre for the […]

  • ASL Interpreted
  • Audio Description
  • Captioning
  • Touch Tour

The Notebook

The Notebook is a new musical based on the bestselling novel that inspired the iconic film. Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart, in a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love. Broadway directors Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, […]

  • Audio Description

Clyde’s

“Feisty comedy is on the menu” (Washington Post) in two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage’s latest Broadway triumph. Creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truck stop cafe. Even as the shop’s mischievous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staffers are given […]

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