Our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend, beginning with eight events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Rainbow Push Coalition
Rainbow Push Coalition’s Commemoration Weekend weaves together service, learning, fellowship and interfaith worship across four events, including an annual breakfast Monday at the Fairmont Chicago (200 N. Columbus Drive).
Jan. 17-19 in various Chicago locations; some free, some ticketed, details at rainbowpush.org
Commemorative Day at Chicago History Museum
Collaboraction Theatre’s staged reading of “Lawndale King,” a new play about King’s time living in North Lawndale, will be joined by a talk by University of Chicago Illinois associate professor of history Elizabeth Todd-Breland, a sing-along, printmaking, button-making and Poems While You Wait.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St.; admission free for Illinois residents, details at chicagohistory.org
“We Are One: Celebrating Beloved Community”
A Monday celebration at the DuSable Black History Museum will bring people together to prepare donations for Wendell Phillips High School. The event will also include music, dance, and a screening of “Selma.”
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Place; details at dusablemuseum.org and free reservations at eventbrite.com
“MLK Day 2026: Chaos or Community”
This day-long event at Hyde Park Art Center features opportunities to meditate, make art, see poetry and music performances, and view a short documentary film about incarceration, re-entry and healing.
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 19 at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave.; free, details at hydeparkart.org
“King Day: Building Our Future”
The Art Institute’s program wraps together family-friendly art-making, stories and songs inspired by King’s speech “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?”
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Ryan Learning Center in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing, 159 E. Monroe St.; admission free for Illinois residents, details at artic.edu
“Open Heart: MLK Tribute Concert”
The annual concert by Chicago Sinfonietta will feature Kathyn Bostic’s “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat”; Joel Thompson’s “breath/burn: an elegy” for Breonna Taylor; Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”; and a performance of “We Shall Overcome” by the Apostolic Church of God Praise Team.
4 p.m. Jan. 18 at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, and 4 p.m. Jan. 19 at The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive; details and tickets at chicagosinfonietta.org
Story Jam
Story Jam’s MLK Day Celebration showcases diverse voices offering personal narratives, including Mama Edie Armstrong, Charlie Garrido, Nestor Gomez and more. Proceeds from the show benefit organizations working with immigrant groups and Chicago families.
7 p.m. Jan. 19 at Space, 1243 Chicago Ave., Evanston; tickets $23.87 at ticketweb.com
“The Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Celebration Concert”
Music Institute of Chicago’s annual concert will be held for the 23rd year, this time featuring a collaboration with Hearing in Color, a Chicago organization that focuses on music from historically excluded communities. Jonathan Bailey Holland will deliver a keynote address; he is the dean of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and composer of “The Bridge,” an opera chronicling King’s years in Boston and framed by the journey to Selma, Alabama.
3 p.m. Jan. 18 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; free, details at musicinst.org
Brian Regan
Catch Brian Regan’s low-key observational humor at the Chicago Theatre this weekend. Long a fixture on late-night television, Regan’s latest comedy special was his 2021 Netflix show, “On the Rocks.”
8 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.; tickets from $52.95 at msg.com
“In America’s Embrace: Celebrating Immigrant Composers”
Chicago Opera Theater performs the music of Irving Berlin, Igor Stravinsky, André Previn, Kurt Weill, Aleksandra Vrebalov and more in a program honoring artists who arrived as refugees in America. Laurie Rogers will serve as music director and pianist.
3 p.m. Jan. 18 at Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave.; tickets from $27.50 at chicagooperatheater.org
Armnhmr
Need more lasers in your life? EDM duo Joseph Chung and Joseph Abella play the Salt Shed a month after dropping their latest single, “You Broke My Heart.”
8 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Salt Shed, 1357 N. Elston Ave.; tickets from $49.59 at saltshedchicago.com
“The Uncanny Attic: Chapters E-H”
Following on last year’s “Chapters A-D,” Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series showcasing local artists brings back this “beautifully gruesome production” for a second installment. An absurdist dark comedy inspired by Edward Gorey, the show incorporates puppetry, clowning, dance, music, song and animation along with “an unhealthy dose of death.”
7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.; tickets from $33 at steppenwolf.org
Metal Movie Night
Speaking of unhealthy doses of death and absurdist dark comedy, Thalia Hall is hosting a “Dead of Winter Double Feature.” Watch Dan O’Bannon’s “The Return of the Living Dead” (1985) and Sam Raimi’s “Army of Darkness” (1993) back to back. No, they aren’t part of the same film franchise … Living Dead, Evil Dead … and let’s not even bring George Romero into this. But they’re cinematic kindred spirits of sorts. Metal Vinyl Weekend sets the scene with a DJ set at 7 p.m.
8 p.m. Jan. 16 at Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St.; tickets from $23.15 at ticketweb.com
Pilates at the Auditorium Theatre
Feel the burn under the grand arches of The Auditorium Theatre’s Dress Circle. Lauren Moreno leads a one-hour pilates mat class followed by a prosecco toast and healthy bites, a yoga pop-up boutique, and a guided tour of the theater.
9 a.m. Jan. 17 at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive; tickets from $80.10 at auditoriumtheatre.org
Have something to do around Chicago? Email events to day.chitribevents@gmail.com.