AUGUST
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Earlier this summer, while on a 12-city tour of Europe, Free Street’s Madjoy Theatrics youth ensemble passed time on Vienna’s U-Bahn by singing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” To their surprise, they made it through the entire song. The spontaneous performance gave them the idea for tonight’s Hit It rock ‘n’ roll karaoke fund-raiser. Intended to help bankroll a September trip to Germany–during which the group will collaborate with German and West African teens in Hamburg–the event will feature original music by three bands, who’ll also play covers the audience can sing along with. And, yes, the 1975 Queen hit is on the playlist. The event starts at 7 at Pulaski Park, 1419 W. Black-hawk in Chicago. Admission is $10, and guests are encouraged to dress as their favorite pop stars. Call 773-772-7248 or see www.freestreet.org for more information.
“The peace movement can write very good protest letters, but they are not yet able to write a love letter,” wrote Vietnamese Zen master, poet, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh in his 1987 book, Being Peace. “We need to learn to write a letter to the Congress or to the Pres-ident of the United States that they will want to read, and not just throw away.” Thich Nhat Hanh–who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King Jr. and who lives and teaches at a meditation center in France–will visit Chicago tonight for the first time in nearly a decade to deliver a lecture titled Building a Century of Peace. Doors open at 6:30 and the talk starts at 7:30 at Loyola’s Joseph Gentile Center at Sheridan and Loyola in Chicago; tickets are $20, $12 for students and seniors. Call 866-468-3401.
The lowest interest rates in half a century have bred an epidemic of teardowns in Chicago suburbs, but they’ve also spurred some amazing home improvement projects. The Mount Prospect Historical Society has put together a tour of nine recently revamped houses, including a 1958 raised ranch that now features a two-story foyer with winding staircase and fireplace. The self-guided driving tour runs from noon to 5 today; proceeds benefit the historical society’s preservation activities. Tickets, which include a map, are $25 ($22 in advance) and are available at the society, 101 S. Maple in Mount Prospect; home owners and contractors will be on hand to discuss the pitfalls and the glories of renovation. Call 847-392-9006.
“Cooking was easy as long as the weather was calm, but when the weather suddenly changed it turned the galley into a disaster area,” says former landlubber Betty Godfrey–who used to get sick in a rowboat–of the three years she and her boyfriend spent circumnavigating the globe aboard their 65-foot yacht, Destiny. Her new book, On the Winds of Destiny, chronicles their adventure from the moment she promised the man she’d later marry, Bob Godfrey–who was stricken with heart disease–that she’d sail around the world with him if he recovered. “The trip was a tremendous undertaking,” she writes, “but…I found out you can achieve anything if you have enough guts and determination.” The Godfreys, who got engaged when they hit New Zealand, will give a free talk tonight at 7 at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington in Evanston; call 847-866-0300.
