Events – Chicago Theater and Arts

India Blooms at Chicago Botanic Garden

Pansy Orchids among different ones to look for in the greenhouses. (JJacobs photo) — Pansy Orchids among different ones to look for in the greenhouses.(JJacobs photo)

Escape the frigid temps at the Chicago Botanic Garden. CBG’s greenhouses are always a destination for those in the know as the place to briefly escape winter.

However, now through March 23, 2025, beautiful blooms are an added bonus. The event is the annual Orchid Show which this year focuses on India as an orchid source.

Often devoted to different kinds of orchids, this year’s show is about one of the plants’ country of origin.

“It’s been in the works for about seven years,” said Chief Development Officer Ivan Adames who stopped to talk to visitors in a greenhouse.

Boards on the wall across from the greenhouse talked about the country as an orchid grower with about 388 species, many of which are found in the Himalayas.

The India theme is carried throughout the exhibit with decorative hanging baskets, the use of the color blue and even a glorious peacock whose tail is made with orchid blooms.

If interested in purchasing an orchid come during one of the weekend Orchid Marketplaces. They are Feb. 15 – 16, 22– 23 and March 1 – 2. Or, come when the Illinois Orchid Society has its Show & Sale, March 8 – 9
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For Indian themed items visit the Indian Community Marketplace March 22 – 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition there is a post orchid show sale Thursday, March 27 at 9 a.m.

The show is by time tickets. Adult: $12 member / $22 nonmember
Children ages 3 – 12: $8 member / $15 nonmember
Children 2 & under: Free

The Chicago Botanic Garden is at 1000 Lake Cook Rd, Glencoe, IL 60022,
(847) 835-6801.

For more information visit https://www.chicagobotanic.org/ and Chicago Botanic Org/orchids.

Celebrate Year of the Snake

Lunar New Year parade on Argyle

(Photo courtesy of the Argyle Chamber of Commerce)

Sure, today is Sunday when Chinese take-out is often a tradition. But upload the places and dates below and expand that idea to enjoy Chinese food and its culture, now through mid-February.

The Chinese Lunar New Year 2025- the Year of the Snake (4723) – begins this Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, but some places have already started celebrating this weekend including the Peninsula Chicago. Try to get a reservation there today for Afternoon Tea.

Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula Chicago, 108 E. Superior St., Chicago
This high-end hotel chain offers traditional Chinese fare and has added a special Chinese New Year Sunday Brunch today, Jan. 26, 2025 with such buffet items as dim sum, Peking duck, other entrées, and desserts.

Can’t make it, don’t despair there are numerous Lunar New Year events throughout the Chicago area.

Navy Pier traditionally features different cultural celebrations. For the Lunar New Year the Aon Grand Ballroom becomes a family-friendly, activity-filled space to mark the Year of the (Wood) Snake on Feb.1, 2025 at 1 p.m. Navy Pier is east of Michigan Avenue at 840 E. Grand Ave. and Lake Michigan.

Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown

Photo courtesy of Chicago Chinatown Community Foundation

Parades

Chinese New Year is celebrated with two Lunar New Year parades: one in Chinatown operated by the Chicago Chinatown Community Foundation Feb. 9 and one the day before in Uptown along Argyle, Feb. 8. It goes through a neighborhood that features many Asian businesses and restaurants.

The Chinatown Parade has dragon and lion dancing, floats and marching groups. It starts 1 p.m. at 24th Street and Wentworth Avenue and goes north on Wentworth towards a viewing stand at Cermak and Wentworth. Come to watch and see this historic neighborhood’s architecture and color.

The Lunar New Year parade on Argyle includes community and cultural groups, dancers, other performers. The parade starts at 1 p.m. but the day includes family activities from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Restaurants

Hing Kee Restaurant, 2140 S. Archer Ave. Chinatown is holding its 20th Annual Dumpling Dinner now through Feb. 2, 2025.

Sunda New Asian is celebrating the Lunar New Year at both Chicago locations, 110 W. Illinois St. and 333 N. Green St. Lion dances will be Jan. 30-31 at Futon Market and at River North.

Shops

Brush & Bite, 3155 N. Halsted St. features Dumplings & Calligraphy.
Try Chinese calligraphy to create beautiful characters and also learn dumpling-making. Now through February 9, 2025.

Fashion Outlets of Chicago are celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year with cultural programs, free activities, and offers from participating retailers now through Feb. 16, 2025 at 5220 Fashion Outlets Way, Rosemont, IL.

Jodie Jacobs

Oscars nominations announced

The Oscars will televise live March 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.

But if you watched any of the motion picture award shows this winter you already know most of the nominations with the exception of “Wicked.” Its highly anticipated nominations didn’t occur until the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named their picks today, Jan. 23, 2025, live from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Before today, “Wicked” mostly received a nod through a special category.

When the Oscars® nominations were announced today, it listed the following movies including the much nominated Emilia Perez that dominated the other award shows but also added Wicked.

Here are the Academy pics for best picture:

Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked.

The following are some of the other category nominations:

Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees
Adrien Brody for The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo for Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes for Conclave
Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice

Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees
Yura Borisov for Anora
Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain
Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce for The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong for The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees
Cynthia Erivo for Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison forAnora
Demi Moore for The Substance
Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here

Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees
Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande for Wicked
Felicity Jones for The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini for Conclave
Zoe Saldaña forEmilia Pérez

For a complete list of nominees, visit www.oscars.org.

The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Jodie Jacobs

Groundhog Day again

Groundhog Dy in Woodstock. (JJacobs photo) — Groundhog Dy in Woodstock. (JJacobs photos)

Tired already of winter? Want to know when Spring will come? One way to hear if it will be early or late is to follow Punxsutawney Phil in western Pennsylvania or Woodstock Willie in an Illinois town northwest of Chicago..

The famed 1993 movie directed by Harold Ramis from a script written by Danny Rubion and screenplay by Ramis and Rubin, is supposedly taking place in Punxsutawney, PA but was mostly filmed in Woodstock, a small town about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, IL.

Ramis who lived in Chicago’s northern suburbs wanted a more convenient film location then Pennsylvania and liked Woodstock’s small-town square and opera house.

Groundhog Day is Feb. 2 but Woodstock activities really get into gear Feb. 1. So plan now to visit the charming square where Willie the Groundhog’s prognostication takes place. Hopefully, he won’t see his shadow. If he does, it means six more weeks of winter.

You can see the whole film in the movie house down the street from the square and follow in stars Bill Murray and Andie Macdowell’s footsteps.

By the way, you do known the plot circles around the obnoxious weatherman character played by Murray, right? It is a rom com so of course everything turns out rosy but first he has to change. He gets plenty of time to do so as he wakes up every morning stuck in Woodstock at the same place, same time.

The pavilion in Woodstock's square where the band plays (J Jacobs photo)

Woodstock Pavilion where the band plays and prognostication takes place

The basis for the plot goes back to Pennsylvania Dutch folk lore but may also have European agricultural roots that believe animals have an instinct for seasonal weather changes. And yes, both the PA and IL sites do consult a groundhog during the event.

For Woodstock activities visit Woodstock, IL Groundhog Days – Every Day is Groundhog Day in Woodstock

For Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney events visit Punxsutawney Groundhog Club – The Home of Groundhog Day!

For more info on the movie visit Groundhog Day (1993) – IMDb

Award ceremonies coming up

Grammy Award | Definition, History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica

(You are probably familiar with Oscar so here are the Grammies)

It’s hard to picture the many spring ceremonies for Oscar, Emmy and Grammy awards still taking place given the horrendous wild fires that have decimated thousands of homes in the LA area.

However, the people behind these ceremonies believe that life still has to make an effort to go on somehow. So here are a few updates on what to expect:

Critics Choice Awards: Expected earlier on the calendar for Jan. 12, 2025, they are now scheduled for Jan. 26 to be live on E! and stream on Peacock the Jan. 27. They are still supposed to happen at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

There is no word out yet about the Producers Guild of America Awards nominations or those of the Writers Guild of America nominations.

But the Grammys ceremony is still expected to be Feb. 2, 2025 at the Crypto.com Arena. Visit nominations.

Stay safe

Jodie Jacobs

Chicago Restaurant Week brightens winter blahs

Mirellas Tavern

Photo courtesy of Mirellas Tavern (Wicker Park) and Choose Chicago

Hate January?
Find something fun to do such as try a new restaurant or go to one that is usually high priced but has a window of lower cost opportunities. The answer can be found at the Chicago Restaurant Week guide that is put out by Choose Chicago.

This special “week” is actually 17 days running from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9, 2025. With more than 470 participating restaurants to try it couldn’t be confined to just a week.

The idea is to splurge with a special prix fixe menu for brunch or lunch at $30 and for dinner at mostly $45 (a few at $60).

Restaurants range from Mexican, Italian, American and French bistros to seafood, steak houses, Japanese, Mediterranean, BBQ and pubs in between.

“Chicago” may also be a misnomer because the places are not just all over the city but also can be found in the suburbs such as COA at the Drake in Oakbrook and the Capital Grill at Old Orchard in Skokie.

Also try a new restaurant. These are listed at First timers. They include Pompette in Bucktown, Dawn in Hyde Park, ‘Atta girl in Logan Square, Wolfhound Bar in Avondale, Monarch and Lion in Streeterville and Olio e Più in River North.

Happy eating

Jodie Jacobs

Theatre Week Tickets Sale

Photo courtesy of the North Shore Center for Performing Arts. — Northlight Theater is in the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie

Just a reminder

Back at the end of 2024, we talked about saving money while getting tickets to Chicago area shows this winter-spring through Chicago Theatre Week.

So, this note is just a reminder that tickets go on sale today, January 7, 2025 at 10 a.m.

Chicago Theatre Week (CTW) is Feb. 6-16 in 2025. There will be an extention, though, hosted by HotTix.org. It will run Feb. 17-23, 2025.

CTW tickets will be $30, $15, or less at ChicagoTheatreWeek.com.

Note that participants include suburban theaters.

A few of the many productions participating:

Singin’ In the Rain in Concert – Lyric Opera

A Raisin in the Sun – Court Theatre

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical – Drury Lane

Avaaz – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

The Heart Sellers – Northlight Theatre

Fool for Love – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Betrayal – Goodman Theatre

Waitress – Paramount Theatre

Jodie Jacobs

Golden Globes may predict some Oscars

Image result for golden globe awards

Hold on to the list of the 82 Golden Globes Award winners given out in LA Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. They may predict some of the 97th Academy Award winners.

Known as the Oscars, nominations will be announced, Jan. 17, 2025. Hosted by Conan O’Brien, the 2025 Academy Awards air Sunday, March 2, 2025 on ABC at 7 p.m. ET and will stream live on Hulu. But we may have gotten a preview of some movie winners if the Golden Globe winners are any indication.

Emilia Pérez, a 2024 Spanish-language French musical crime comedy, should definitely be among the films nominated for this year’s Oscars. Named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, it was selected as the French entry for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards.

At the Golden Globes, held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Sunday, it had ten nominations and racked up four wins including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Foreign Language Film.

When accepting her awards, its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, said, “I am who I am.” Gascón made history as the first transgender woman to be nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.

Written and directed by Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez, is based on Audiard’s opera libretto of the same name. It was adapted from Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute. The film premiered May 18, 2024 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and then won the Jury Prize in the Palme d’Or. Its female ensemble collectively won the Best Actress award.

But among the big questions at the Golden Globes, Sunday was what was host Nikki Glaser going to come out in next. She looked stunning in all her many gown changes.

However, the thing to remember about Sunday’s awards is that they are for film and television. So, along with Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist, for movies, Shōgun and Hacks took top honors in their respective TV categories.

WINNERS:

Demi Moorebest female in movie music or comedy movie for The Substance

Sebastian Stan (A Different Man) for male role in a movie music or comedy

Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) for best supporting role female film

Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) supporting role male film

Emilia Pérez for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy,

Adrien Brody for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for The Brutalist.

The Brutalist, a long, 3 hours and 35 minutes with an intermission, won Best Motion Picture — Drama.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy.
Demi Moore for The Substance,

Best performance by male actor in a TV musical or comedy: Jeremy Allen White The Bear.

Best Television Series — Drama
Shōgun

Best Actress in a Television Series — Drama
Anna Sawai, Shōgun

Best supporting role in a movie –Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)

“Wicked” won for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy
Hacks

Best TV limited series, anthology series or motion picture made for TV
Baby Reindeer

Best Director Movie –Brady Corbet (The Brutalist)

Best Screenplay Director Peter Straughan (Conclave)

Jean Smart best female in TV series for Hack

Conclave for best screenplay

Best Animation is Flow (Sideshow/Janus Films)

Jodie Jacobs

Dazzling Lights

Light up the night at Lightscape

Stroll a path you haven’t quite taken in the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Photo credit: Chicago Botanic Garden)

It’s just over a mile but it’s a December night so the air can be brisk. Bundle up or pick up hot chocolate or coffee along the way. Parts of the path may be familiar. However, that won’t matter. There are signs and helpers guiding the route.

The path is the Chicago Botanic Garden’s annual Lightscape event that seems to wander past and amidst multi-lit trees, pastures and geometric shapes. Opened Nov. 15, 2024 and continuing through Jan. 5, 2025. the path is glorious!

The Cathedral at Lightscape. (J Jacobs photo).

But the route is also practical. Just about two-thirds through when you could use a whatever break, you reach the education building with its restrooms, snack bars and tables.

Then, continue past more beautifully lit landscapes to the finish after walking through the”Cathedral,” a multi-lit archway kind of tunnel.

What you need to know: The event is by timed entry that begins at dusk – 4:30 p.m. and goes usually to 9 p.m. depending on the date.

For tickets and more information visit Lightscape | Chicago Botanic Garden.

Jodie Jacobs

Best holiday shopping

Art Institue of Chicago has a great gift shop (J Jacobs photo) — Art Institute of Chicago has a great gift shop (J Jacobs photo)

For holiday shopping at its best – meaning taking out the hassle and stirring in fun, consider these two ideas.

What: One of a Kind Show
Every year the One a Kind Show’s more than 600 artisans takes up a floor at The Mart. Yes, it’s that huge building facing the Chicago River that has changing light murals across its riverfront side.

First, wander its food aisle to find tasty treats from candy to cakes to take home or send. Then, check out the artisan booths where everything from paintings and jewelry to purses and glass items will have you adding your own wishes to those gifts your getting others.

When: Dec 5-Dec. 10 am-7 pm and Dec. 10 am-5 pm
Where: THE MART, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 470, Chicago, IL 60654, (312) 527-4141 and (800) 677-6278 toll free.

What: Combine Art Institute of Chicago galleries with its store in person or visit AIC’s shop on line. The Art Institute of Chicago is a world renown travel destination but it also has a great, well stocked gift shop. Look for artistic scarves, jewelry, note paper, glassware, puzzles, paperweights, stuff for kids and the home plus creative calendars and stationery. Shops are at both entrances so just stop by if not visiting an exhibition.

When: anytime on line. In person days open and hours, Mon 11–5, closed Tue-Wed. open Thu 11–8, Fri–Sun 11–5. Note first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for members.

Where: 111 S Michigan Ave., (front entrance) and 159 E. Monroe St, (Modern Wing entrance) Chicago, IL 60603.

Jodie Jacobs