Markets. Holiday markets as far as the eye can see. It is that time of year after all, so why not take advantage and peruse all these amazing pop up markets and find something amazing. It can be a girt for some one special (even if that someone is you) or just a chance to discover the amazing spaces they take place in. If market's aren't your thing there are plenty of concerts, art exhibitions and a brunch waiting for you!
So let's get on with your curated weekend!
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6th
Sauced: The Night Market Before Christmas @ Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, 12 S Michigan Ave, 5:00pm - 10:00pm All Ages
WHAT: Merry whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year from Sauced and the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
SO WHAT: It's the Night Market Before Xmas and Sauced knew exactly what to get everyone! A fantastic event with over 50 food, art and retail vendors taking over the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel for your shopping enjoyment! There will also be the Glitterguts photo booth and DJ Greg Feelgood on hand to help the festivities get going!
Check out their event page for a full list of vendors.
NOW WHAT: Admission is free and it's all ages! Go out, shop, and party!
BrewLights @ Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N Clark St, 5:30pm - 9:30pm, 21+
WHAT: Craft brews and lights at the Zoo
SO WHAT: Lincoln Park Zoo is back for the fifth annual Craft BrewLights event presented by Lakeshore Beverage! Tickets to the event includes a dozen sample-sized tastings of craft and seasonal beers on tap throughout the zoo during ZooLights. The evening will also offer opportunities for photos with Santa at the Helen Brach Primate House, free rides on the AT&T Endangered Species Carousel, live music and more!
NOW WHAT: General Admission tickets are $49 and designated driver tickets are $20
Brittany Campbell / Cole DeGenova / Hood Smoke @ Martyrs', 3855 N Lincoln Ave, 9:00pm, 21+
WHAT: A night of soulful voiced and hip hop grooves
SO WHAT: Need little something unique to add to your Thursday night? Well this show at Martyrs' brings together some interesting voice together for one amazing show. You'll get to hear
Brittany Campbell's impressive R&B vibes take over the room,
Cole DeGenova's utterly catchy songs, the genre bending sounds
Hood Smoke!
NOW WHAT: Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door for this excellent night!
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th & 8th
Field Notes Holiday Market @ Field Notes Midwest HQ, 401 N Racine Ave, Friday 4:00pm - 7:00pm & Saturday Noon - 4:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: A Holiday shop with some incredibly talented folks
SO WHAT: Stop by Field Notes HQ and enjoy a plentiful market! This will be a great opportunity to check off all the gifts on your shopping list. The store will be stocked with Field Notes products, and they’ll have fine goods from special guest vendors including Aaron Draplin, The Bird Machine, Busy Beaver Button Co., The James Brand, Landland, Notes to Self, and Vichcraft!
NOW WHAT: It's free! Go out and get yourself and your friends some unique gifts!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7th
Last Landland Show w/ Stove, Maneka, Slow Mass & Options @ Landland, 1735 N Ashland Ave., 7:00pm - 10:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: One last show before they hit the road
SO WHAT: Landland will be relocating to Minnneapolis at the end of December, so head out to celebrate its departure with this excellent show! Join
Stove and their chilled out sound,
Maneka's aural explosion of jazz/postpunk/experimental tracks, the post-hardcore bliss of
Slow Mass, and
Options pristine indie rock tunes
NOW WHAT: There is a $10 donation that will go directly to the touring acts! Go and make this final Landland show a great one!
100% Off Bands: Beastii, Alien Thing, Impulsive Hearts @ Schubas, 3159 N Southport Ave., 9:00pm, 21+
WHAT: Cool bands? Cheap drinks? Must be 100% Off Bands!
SO WHAT: Step into Schubas for a night of fantastic local bands doing their thing! You'll get the experimental post-punk jams from
Alien Thing,
Beastii psychedelic trip into spacey pop tunes, and the fuzzed out sun-soaked vibes of
Impulsive Hearts that we so desperately need in this chilly winter!
NOW WHAT: It's free! No reason not to spend you well earned break from the work week listening to this excellent bands!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8th
C R A T E S (Chicago Record And Turntable Enthusiast Swap) @ Temperance Beer Co., 2000 Dempster Street, Evanston, IL, 11:00am -5:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: Another edition of C.R.A.T.E.S., a record collecting event hoping to bring together record collectors and lovers at an awesome brewery
SO WHAT: Join Funk Trunk Records and their friends at Temperance Beer Company for a day of crate diggin' and craft beer sippin'. They will have a hand selected line up of DJs to provide the perfect soundtrack for thumbing through records from hand picked vendors with choice crates for collectors of all kinds. There will be free VPI record cleaning by Quintessence Audio Ltd. throughout the day and free coffee courtesy of Dark Matter Coffee starting at 11:00am until they run out!
Check out the full lineup of vendors at their event page.
NOW WHAT: Head out and get ready to find some awesome vinyl!
Handmade Market Chicago @ Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western Ave, Noon - 4:00pm, 21+ and parents with kids
WHAT: Shopping, eating, and drinking all in one place
SO WHAT: Grab some food next door at Bite Cafe, maybe a drink from the Empty Bottle Bar, and start shopping the
Handmade Market Chicago! They will be bringing over 30 makers of beautiful and unique items to the Empty Bottle! Join in and see what all the sellers will have to offer. You can check out some of the sellers that will be featured over on their
Facebook events page.
NOW WHAT: This event as always is free!
Dovetail Holiday Market! @ Dovetail Brewery, 1800 W Belle Plaine Ave, 12:30pm - 5:00pm, 21+ (but kids can be baby sat by CARD Chicago (Center for Autism and Related Disorders) for $15 an hour!)
WHAT: Dovetail Brewery's giving you a chance to shop local, drink a beer, and have some fun
SO WHAT: This great brewery's Holiday market will feature local vendors offering some great wares as you drink delicious craft beers and at some equally delicious food. In addition to the market, Dovetail be having a Holiday Bottle sale, featuring a to-go bag of their four barrel-aged beers: X01, X02, Kriek, and 12.25.16, and Paulina Market will be hosting a pop-up serving their well-known sausages.
NOW WHAT: Entry is free, just be ready to pick up some great gifts for the holidays
Sweet Home Chicago @ All Star Press, 2775 N Milwaukee Ave. 6:00pm -10:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: An art exhibition focused on our hometown
SO WHAT: All Star Press presents, S
weet Home Chicago, a group show featuring Chris Garofalo, Dave Stafford, Jake.PSD, and Steven Holliday. Each artist will bring their unique sense of Chicago nostalgia that strikes the right note during the holiday season. Combining multiple movies and sports that really remind you of this fantastic home of ours, in
Sweet Home Chicago. There will be limited edition prints, pins, and originals available to purchase, so bundle up and head out to the wonderful show!
NOW WHAT: No ticket required.
Sweet Home Chicago is free to the public!
You Are Beautiful Flagship Grand Opening! @ YABHQ, 3368 N Elston Ave. 6:00pm -10:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: The iconic public art staple is opening its flagship store!
SO WHAT: Have you ever been wandering around town and passed by a piece of art the reminded you of this simple little truth: "
You Are Beautiful"? Whether you have missed out on this widespread affirmation or are a big fan, now's the time to check out their first ever flagship location! The entire building (gallery & wood shop) will be open for everyone to enjoy for one night only. The workshop in the back is normally not open to the public, but for the grand opening, you'll be able to tour the entire space!
NOW WHAT: RSVP is free! Go and see the inner workings You are Beautiful!
2nd Annual December Print Exhibit @ Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery, 2780 N Lincoln Ave, 7:00pm - 10:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: The 2nd Annual December Print Exhibit; or How to Properly Get Awesome Art for Your Walls
SO WHAT: This year instead of focusing on a theme,
Rotofugi has recruited some of their favorite artists and a few newbies to do whatever thy wanted for this creative exhibition! This is the perfect opportunity to get a holiday gift for the art lover in your life or pick up some new inexpensive art for yourself! Participating artists include 64 Colors, Blake Jones, CHema Skandal!, Cherry Moth Cake, Chinacat663, Cindy Scaife, Curtis Readel, Dan Grzeca, Hebru Brantley (who will have a single print available for sale, not an edition), Jay Ryan, Joey D, Keith Herzik, Mark ‘Atomos’ Pilon, Mike Bell, Shawn 'Shawnimal' Smith, Steve Seeley, Tony Rabit, Veggiesomething, Vivian Le, Zach Schrey & Zissou Tassef-Elenkoff.
NOW WHAT: Admission is free, so get out there and check out some gorgeous prints, by a few, and enjoy music by DJ Sean Doe plus complimentary snacks and soft drinks (BYOB if you want to have alcohol). Exhibit continues through December 30, 2018.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9th
Hungry as F*ck's Holiday Bake Sale & Craft Fair: Crafty as F*ck @ Marz Community Brewing, 3630 S Iron St, Chicago, IL 60609, Noon - 4:00pm, All Ages
WHAT: A little food, some beer, and great crafts for your sunday afternoon.
SO WHAT: Crafty As F*ck is equal parts bake sale and holiday craft fair bringing together some amazing local artists, excellent craftspeople, holiday shopping, seasonal treats, and Marz beer in one fancy as f*ck package! In addition to cool people selling their wares, Jessamyn Fitzpatrick will be on hand doing Sex Positivity Tarot Readings and Won Kim will be doing Live Art for auction with proceeds benefiting the Chicago Period Project!
NOW WHAT: Entry is free as f*ck! Go find something cool ot buy!
A Charlie Brown Christmas Brunch @ Headquarters Beercade, 213 W Institute Pl,Noon - 4:00pm, 21+
WHAT: Just in time for the Holiday Season: A Christmas Brunch!
SO WHAT: Headquarters is turning into your favorite Christmas classic:
A Charlie Brown Christmas! This Peanuts themed event will feature live performances by the Tim Stine Quartet playing Vince Guaraldi's timeless Christmas album, carolers, and more! Enjoy holiday-inspired food and beverage; featuring three specialty Christmas cocktails you'll find only at HQ!
NOW WHAT: Tickets are $35 for this fun looking brunch!