Friday 3/27 – Thursday 4/2
28 SATURDAY Hard-core birders get up at strange hours and sit in cramped spaces awaiting the objects of their obsession. Backyard birders like me sit in comfortable chairs, look out our windows, and shout and point when we see something colorful fly by. At today’s Birding America III conference, experts will identify exactly what just went by and tell you where to find more of them in or near the Chicago area. It’s from 9 to 3 (registration begins at 8:15) at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe. Admission is $40. Call 773-539-6793.
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One of the highlights of the Chicago Stadium was the giant old pipe organ. It was purchased by a nostalgic group of fans, but alas, the pipes were destroyed in a fire six months ago. Yet there are still a number of grand old pipe organs in use in churches around the south side. Today the local Organ Historical Society will visit and listen to four of them as part of its annual Spring Organ Crawl. The free tour starts at 10 at Saint Mary of Perpetual Help, 1035 W. 32nd. Call 708-579-5433.
31 TUESDAY “We come together about noon at Jerry’s SnakShop. We don’t come for the food, although complaining about the food is one of the pleasures of coming to Jerry’s.” As Catherine Scherer shows in her essay “A Spy in the House of Old Age,” even a bad meal can bring people together. Hers is one of the stories examining the meaning of community that will be performed tonight in “A Sense of Belonging,” the most recent installment in WBEZ’s documentary series Chicago Matters: Our Region, Our Community. The performance starts at 7:30 at the Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis. Tickets are $10, $8 for students and seniors. Call 773-753-4472. In case you can’t make it, the show will be aired April 12 at 9 PM on WBEZ, 91.5 FM.
Washington Library Center,
