January 2023

A monthly round-up of events & specials + neighborhood news!

Join us for our next First Fridays on January 6! Galleries and art spaces across West Town will be open late to showcase their latest exhibitions and studio spaces. Check out the full line-up for a list of openings/closings, live music and more. First Fridays will take place from 6-8 p.m. on the first Friday of every month. With a mission to further facilitate connection amongst Chicago’s gallerists, artists, collectors and patrons, this event allows guests to discover why West Town has become known as Chicago's beloved Gallery District. Stop by WTCC headquarters to check out "Transition of the Esoteric Child," a solo exhibition of works by Alex Puryear, presented by Chicago Fine Art Salon.

Peak holiday shopping may be over, but purchases made at participating West Town Winterbucks locations are still eligible to earn yourself *more* West Town Winterbucks through February 28th! And if you’ve already made enough qualifying purchases, don’t forget to send your receipts into the West Town Chamber of Commerce’s office so we can get you your Winterbucks ASAP! Learn more here, and thank you for shopping small and supporting your community’s businesses yearround!

First Fridays

January 6 from 5 to 9 p.m.

Stop by the Chicago Fine Art Salon to meet the staff, peruse the artwork and enjoy some pizza.

The Moon Belongs to Everyone by Stacy Arezou Mehrfar

Opening Reception: January 13, 6-9 p.m.

Exhibition Dates: January 13 to February 24

The Moon Belongs to Everyone speaks to the experience of immigration and diaspora, to the physical and emotional implications of reimagining home, belonging, and community while mourning what is lost in that process. Though Mehrfar’s personal experience as a first-generation Iranian-American informs her approach, the work adopts a universal perspective rooted in the evocative rather than the specific.

For Those Without Choice

Opening Reception: January 20 from 5–8 p.m.

For Those Without Choice is a group exhibition in partnership with Planned Parenthood. The artworks included represent a range of pro-choice positions with particular attention to protecting reproductive rights including abortion. 

The 2023 Western Exhibitions Drawing Biennial

January 6 through February 25

Western Exhibitions is thrilled to present the second Western Exhibitions Drawing Biennial, a celebration of the medium of drawing in many expanded mutations. Contributions by gallery and affiliated artists confirm the gallery’s commitment to drawing and works on paper and the varied approaches on view — from schematic to free-form, in-your-face to speculative, abstract to figurative — will capture the current state of contemporary drawing practices while placing a focus on gallery artists’ core concerns of personal narratives and cosmologies, identity and gender, sexuality, pattern and exuberance, all with a keen attention to materiality.

New Exhibitions

Opening Reception: January 6 from 5-8 p.m.

RESOLUTE

Please join ARC for an opening celebration of its 50th year with an exhibition by Chicago members! Participating Members includie Sessah DelaRue, Nancy Fritz, Stacy Lee Gee, Iris Goldstein, Diane Jurado, Beth LeFauve, Elyse Martin, Ruti Modlin, Cheri Reif Naselli, Randi Shepard, Lee Stanton, Michele Stutts, and Michelle Williams.

Cait Hardie: STILLSCAPES

Inspired by travels in Japan and Hong Kong, these pieces embrace the speed, the noisy and chaotic in the urban landscape, while finding the order, quiet and stillness within them.

Ted Degener Exhibition

Opening Reception: January 19 from 5-8 p.m.

Artist-built homes, gardens, studios and other environments captured Ted Degener's interest in 1973 after his cross-country visit to photograph Simon Rodia's Watts Towers. For Degener, that trip was the first of a lifetime of seeking and photographing makers within their artist-built environments. From January to May 2023, Intuit presents a collection of these portrait photographs by Ted Degener.

"Home Sweet Home : Nostalgia-ish" Exhibition

Opening: January 28

Chicago Truborn and Co-Curator, SubUrbanWarrior, present our first exhibition of 2023. A robust group show featuring over 30 street/contemporary artists from all over the country. This show will focus on breathing new life into vintage/thrifted paintings. Each artist was tasked with finding their own vintage canvas and asked to add their signature work on top to create a timeless collaboration. There is a timeless essence captured in these works and we can not wait to share this experience with you!

On Tour's 6th Anniversary Week Celebration

January 4-8

Join the fun all week long as OT celebrates living life #alwaysontour for six years running. Expect special beer tappings, live music, Arigato Market tacos, and take a trip down On Tour’s memory lane by visiting the anniversary poster wall as part of their daily anniversary celebrations. Keep your eyes peeled on their Facebook and Instagram for more updates on how they plan to celebrate!

Monday Pro/Am Open Mic Night

January 9, 16, 23, and 30

All winter long, On Tour will be open on Mondays! Not only will they be open Mondays from 4-9 p.m., but they're hosting a weekly Pro/Am open mic night every Monday from 6-8 p.m. Bring your instrument, bring a friend, grab a beer and get ready to jam. Sign-ups start at 5 p.m. Weekly rotating Mystery Monday drink deals will be offered. Don't miss the fun!

Chicago Restaurant Week

January 20 through February 5

Now taking reservations for Chicago Restaurant Week! Azul offers a 3-course menu for $59 featuring signature entrees, including our seafood stuffed pineapple, grilled skirt steak and paella. A vegetarian 3-course menu is also available for $42.

Azul New Year's Day Brunch

January 1

Join Azul New Year's Day for our brunch buffet, featuring chicken pozole verde (chicken soup with a kick), brunch tacos and fajitas!

Smoke Sessions Series

Thursday, January 19th from 7-9 p.m.

While mingling and sipping Tanteo Tequila cocktails on Frontier’s exceptional beer garden, Chef Jup and Chef Dominique will be presenting, preparing, and plating 4 smoke-inspired dishes (and paired cocktails) for guests to indulge in, such as Wagyu Beef Brisket Macaroni & Cheese, Smoked Salmon, and more!

Pigskin, Bacon, & Bubbles

Saturday, January 21 through Sunday, January 22nd

Football playoff games will be streaming with special food & drink offerings. 

Bar Cocina's Official Brunch Launch

January 1

Barcocina West Town is starting off the new year by launching bottomless brunch on 1/1/23. $60 brunch every Saturday and Sunday, including two hours of bottomless brunch drinks and one entree/taco of your choice.

Screw Your Resolutions: New Year’s Day Bloodys, Bubbles & Brunch

January 1, 2023

Start the New Year with a la carte brunch, drink deals, and NFL football. Choose from entrée selections such as a Sausage Benedict, with breakfast sausage, two poached eggs, a grilled English muffin, hollandaise sauce, and breakfast potatoes ($14); and Chilaquiles, with grilled skirt steak, tortilla chips, onions, two eggs any-style, queso fresco and housemade salsa verde ($15). Brunch is on offer from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; the regular menu is available from 11 a.m.-midnight.

All-day drink deals include $5 Bloody Marys and $5 Mimosas, plus a lineup of specials like $12 Miller/Coors pitchers, $4 Paddy Irish Whiskey shots, $5 Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey shots, $4 Pink Whitney Vodka shots, and $5 house vodka cocktails (excludes Red Bull).

Watch the day’s top games on the bar’s 17 HDTVs, including the Chicago Bears versus the Detroit Lions (noon), the Minnesota Vikings versus the Green Bay Packers (3:25 p.m.), and the Los Angeles Rams versus the Los Angeles Chargers (7:20 p.m.) Mac’s Wood Grilled is open from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. on Sunday, January 1.

Selection Massale Wine Dinner

January 19, 2023

Selection Massale is an importer of fine, natural wines. Most of their portfolio is biodynamically grown, working vineyards by hand, and all are naturally fermented. They search for vignerons that believe in showcasing wines without the intervention of “cellar trickery”, as they call it, that produces clean, highly drinkable wines. Funkenhausen’s wine dinner with Selection Massale will highlight these views, with a food menu built around amplifying and honoring the wines that will be served. Tickets are $85/person for the 4-course dining experience. (Tax included). Purchase here.

January Free Days

January 4, 11, 18, and 25

Shake off the winter blues by working remotely from a cozy, comfortable space. Bring a friend to make it even more of a treat! Do you have something on your to-do List that’s been there for far too long? Ever wanted to test out a workspace? Check out our new coworking space FOR FREE on Wednesdays in January! Our West Town space will be open to all starting Wednesday, January 4! Have a cup of coffee and start the new year off right in a new, productive environment.

Little Bellez Open House

January 7 at 11:30 a.m.

Before our 2023 season of children's dance classes begin, stop by the studio for a sample class with Mrs.Stephanie. This 25 minute class is for children ages 3-5; we'll plié, pirouette and jeté around the dance floor. Sign up at throughthebody.com.

Open House

January 14 at 10 a.m.

TTB is opening our doors for a free morning of workouts! Sample our class formats, chat with our teachers and get to know all things TTB. Claim your free spot at throughthebody.com.

Afternoon Story Time

Tuesdays, January 10 through 24 from 4-4:30 p.m.

Join us for a fun-filled, early literacy story time designed for toddlers and their parents or caregivers. Each program features early literacy tips as well as books, fingerplay rhymes, flannel board stories, and songs to share! For kids ages 0-5. Online registration is required.

Aspiring Author Series

Sundays, January 15, January 22, January 29, and February 5 at 2 p.m.

Are you an aspiring author? Whether you've written several masterpieces already or are only starting to brainstorm your first novel, this four-part series will cover the ins and outs of writing and publishing professionally. Attend all four programs or drop in to the one that best suits your needs. Each program will run approximately 45 minutes in person and on Zoom, and end with a Q&A session. Online registration is required.

How to Write an Effective College Essay

January 31 from 7-8:30 p.m.

Tyree Institute at Wolcott College Prep presents a hands-on workshop for students, parents, guardians, and educators with Nationally Renowned Author, Ethan Sawyer aka The College Essay Guy. Join us for this exciting virtual program where Ethan Sawyer will discuss how to write an effective and distinctive college essay. RSVP here.