Today In The Culture, November 3, 2022: The Story of Mold-A-Rama | Cirque Du Soleil Returns | Forty Years of Vegan Thanksgiving

West African dwarf crocodile at Brookfield Zoo

ART

Tenth Anniversary LATITUDE Exhibition At Chicago Art Department

An exhibition celebrating ten years of LATITUDE, a community-accessible print, photo and education hub that’s hosted Guggenheim Fellowship awardees, National Geographic photographers, Vogue contributors and MoMA exhibitors, runs November 3-December 28 at Pilsen’s Chicago Art Department. The show is accompanied by an auction of prints by LATITUDE artists-in-residence 2020-2022. The group show is hosted by associate curator for the Museum of Contemporary Photography Asha Iman Veal and features the work of fourteen Chicago photographers: Lawrence Agyei, Anwulika Anigbo, Krista Franklin, Brian Gee, Stephan Goettlicher, Lauren Grudzien, Colleen Keihm, Chantal Lesley, Sophie Lopez, Rachel Schafer, Ursula Sokolowska, Leonard Suryajaya, Alexa Viscius and Reuben Wu. “What does it mean to investigate the intimacies of personhood that are so vastly experienced by diverse humans navigating this Life?,” Veal asks in a release. “It can be observed that photographers often run forward into spaces when the rest of us run away to safety—whether that’s a physical safety, or a conceptual one. The bravery of these artist heroes in Chicago has been supported by the community space and resources consistently provided by LATITUDE.” The tenth-anniversary gala opening is tonight, November 3, with details here.

DESIGN

Hugh Hefner’s Tower Was Never Erected

“In the 1960s, Hugh Hefner hired CF Murphy and Associates to build a headquarters for Playboy in Chicago. Architect Otto Stark designed a tapering slab with dramatic triangular buttresses over an entry plaza and a double-height office with canted windows on the top for Hefner,” Preservation Futures posts, with illustrations, in a Twitter thread based on Stark’s memoirs. “According to Stark, the owner of the parking lot that Playboy had to acquire as the site for the tower insisted he would only sell if the top floor office could be his. Hefner refused, and moved the Playboy offices to California in 1971.”

Mold-A-Rama Meets Museum Of Science And Industry

The Museum Of Science And Industry is opening an exhibit dedicated to telling the story of Mold-A-Rama, “the beloved retro machines. The exhibit showcases a collection of popular, rare and experimental Mold-A-Rama souvenirs from the past with their quirky colors, designs and—of course—signature smell to showcase this exciting innovation to a new generation.” The Mold-A-Rama debuted at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle and grew to prominence at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. “Fairgoers savored the warm smell of molten plastic as a memory-making sensation. The William A. Jones Company, a multigenerational business headquartered in the Chicago area, acquired the Mold-A-Rama license in 1971. Keeping this classic technology alive, they now operate sixty-three machines in five states.” The exhibit opens today. Details and images here.

Lincoln Park Lot Garners $9 Million

“The latest big-money residential sale in Lincoln Park is priced at $9 million, and that’s just the cost of the land. How much the house that gets built there will cost is a matter of speculation,” reports Crain’s. “In the past three years, five Lincoln Park properties have sold for higher prices, from $9.5 million to $12.55 million, but all those purchases were for land and a house.”

Coach House And Basement Apartments May Be Approved

“Chicago’s experiment with allowing additional housing units, such as coach houses or in-law apartments, could go citywide under an ordinance that has drawn support from fifteen alderpersons,” reports the Sun-Times.

Adidas Says It Owns Yeezy Designs; Ye Can Keep The Name

“Adidas says it owns the rights to all the Yeezy designs, and it intends to sell the products under its own brand name, starting in 2023. That way, it won’t have to pay Ye royalty and marketing fees,” posts Bloomberg News reporter Kim Bhasin.

DINING & DRINKING

Chicago Diner’s Vegan Thanksgiving Nears Forty

Forty years ago, in the kitchen of what would become Chicago Diner at 3411 North Halsted, the restaurant advises, Chicago herbivores Mickey Hornick and Jo Kaucher were developing the recipes they’d soon feature at their restaurant, including their way-ahead-of-its-time vegan Thanksgiving meal. The Chicago Diner is preparing for another holiday season and offering what may be the longest-running vegan Thanksgiving meal anywhere. More here.

KOVAL Distillery Hosts ASL Tour

KOVAL is hosting an ASL distillery tour in partnership with Chicago Hearing Society with a focus on accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, with ASL interpretation and a printed guidebook. “This tour will feature a deep dive into KOVAL’s history, a look at our unique grain-to-bottle process, an explanation of our heart-cut distillation method and, of course, a tasting of some of our most popular products.” Saturday, November 12, 6pm-8pm. Tickets are $12. More here.

Ghareeb Nawaz Brings The Butter Chicken And The Twitter

“Eat Ghareeb Nawaz or else” is the slogan of the Twitter account maintained for the four-location family restaurant that just opened an outpost in Lincoln Park, reports Block Club. “News of the new location spread like wildfire on social media, partly due to Ghareeb Nawaz’s popular Twitter account, @ghareebnawazCHI, which mixes restaurant promotion with college humor… Ghareeb Nawaz is named after an Indian saint who was known for giving food to the homeless and poor, Mohammed Bozai said. As such, prices tend to fall under $11 for a meal.”

LIT

Chicago Quarterly Review Gets Anthologized

The contents of the upcoming Best American Series have been listed, and Chicago Quarterly Review has gotten multiple inclusions. Best American Short Stories 2022 has included “Miracle River” by Rachel Eliza Griffiths from CQR’s Black American Literature anthology and “The Cat” by A.D. Nauman from CQR #34, both named Distinguished Stories of 2021. In Best American Essays, the Black American Anthology was named a Distinguished Special Issue of the Year, and “An American Right” by Jerald Walker and “Ming Yang Fu, Or Seeking Words at Age Thirteen” by Cliff Thompson were named Notable Essays of 2021. Also, the Pushcart Prize Anthology appears in December, and will include LeVan D. Hawkins essay “Both Sissies” and Rita Dove’s poem “Shakespeare Doesn’t Care.” The CQR site is here.

Newberry Workers Union Formed

Illinois Cultural Workers United AFSCME posts on Twitter: “By an overwhelming margin, employees of the Newberry Library voted today to form their union Newberry Workers United as part of AFSCME Council 31.”

Book Ban Movement Lands At Lincolnwood Library

“It all started with one parent’s complaint about a book in the children’s section of the Lincolnwood library this summer,” reports the Tribune. “What happened next is a scene being played out at board meetings in schools and libraries across the country as parents, activists, politicians and educators argue over programming and materials dealing with gender and sexuality at public institutions in an escalating battle about who has the right to make the call. Last week, that debate took an explosive turn at the Lincolnwood Public Library Board meeting when police were called, the meeting was cut short and staff were left thinking about their safety at work.”

MEDIA

The TRiiBE Names Digital News Editor

Longtime Chicago journalist and editor Andrew Davis is the new digital news editor of The TRiiBE, working closely with editor-in-chief Tiffany Walden, multimedia reporter Tonia Hill, social media producer Tyger Ligon and a network of freelance contributors, the publication reports. “Since launching The TRiiBE, we’ve adapted to the needs of our audience through the pandemic, the 2020 uprisings and more, but we’ve only been able to do so at a limited capacity,” editor-in-chief Tiffany Walden said. “With the support of foundations, readers and the community, we’re able to bring on our first full-time digital news editor. Andrew’s experience, knowledge of Chicago and passion for mentorship will energize our newsroom. I’m excited to see the new heights we’ll reach together.” Davis spent eighteen years at the Windy City Times, which he joined as a news reporter in 2004, covering breaking news and writing human interest profiles. More on Davis’ background here.

MUSIC

Mariachi Herencia De México Appearing With Lupita Infante

Chicago-based virtuoso mariachi band, Mariachi Herencia de México, have set their hometown show in the midst of a successful U.S. tour and fresh off the release of the band’s fifth studio album, “Herederos” (the Heirs). The Herederos tour comes to the Copernicus Center on Sunday, November 6. The tour features Lupita Infante as the band’s special guest, granddaughter of Mexican icon Pedro Infante. Tickets here.

STAGE

Cirque Du Soleil Returns To Chicago After Four Years

Cirque du Soleil returns to the Chicago area after a four-year absence with  “Corteo,” which will be presented at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates for five performances only, June 1-4, 2023. The production, directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, premiered in Montreal in April 2005, and debuted under the Big Top in Chicago the following year. Since its creation, the show has been attended by over ten million spectators, in twenty countries, on four continents. Cirque du Soleil last performed in Chicago in 2019. Tickets available to the general public on November 7 here.

Markie Gray And Cody Estle On Moves At Raven Theatre

“To me, what I find actually really exciting about having this opportunity is that organizations like this very rarely have the chance to pause and think about the actual organization,” Raven Theatre managing director Markie Gray tells Kerry Reid at the Reader. “And think about the things that are the foundation of all of the art that we make. And that is how we are treating our staff, how we are managing our boards, how we’re thinking about EDI, how we’re looking at ourselves as an organization. It so often gets pushed to the bottom of the list, especially in smaller companies.” Outgoing artistic director Cody Estle: “One of the reasons I sort of felt like it would be an okay time to leave Raven—not that there’s ever an okay time or a good time—was that I’d done everything that I had said that I wanted to do… I had done everything that I set out to do, and the money has been raised for the project, or almost raised for the renovation project. When I came on, it was like, ‘We need to diversify the programming. We need to expand the staff, we need to get health insurance for the staff. We need to make sure that the theater is moving from non-Equity to Equity.'”

Joffrey Announces Winning Works Choreographic Competition Winners

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, the official school of the Joffrey Ballet, has announced the recipients of its thirteenth annual Winning Works: Natasha Adorlee, Christopher D’Ariano, Kameron Saunders and Mike Tyus, following a national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists. The choreographers’ world-premiere works will be performed by the dancers of the Joffrey Studio Company and the Joffrey Academy Trainee Programs. Winning Works will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Edlis Neeson Theater, March 16-19. The works will also be available to view virtually, following the in-person performances. The $30 tickets are here.

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Daylight Savings Time Is Worse Than Standard Time For Your Body

“Within days, forty-eight states and the District of Columbia will reset their clocks and fall back into standard time. From a health standpoint, most sleep and circadian experts say we should stay there,” reports the Washington Post. “Experts say early-morning sunlight is key to maintaining our circadian rhythms, sleep-wake cycles and overall health. Phyllis Zee, a neurologist and chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said without that sunlight, we can slip into circadian misalignment—’when your internal body clocks fall out of sync with that of the sun clock and your social clocks.’ The concern with adopting a permanent change to daylight saving time, which the Senate has voted to do, is that it may chronically throw our bodies out of sync with the sun and lead to a variety of health problems.”

Chicago Urban League Receives $6.6 Million MacKenzie Scott Donation

The Chicago Urban League said it will use the “transformational” $6.6 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the largest in its 106-year history, to retire debt and complete improvements to their Bronzeville headquarters, reports the Sun-Times.

United And Delta Pilots Ready To Strike 

United Airlines pilots overwhelmingly voted against a tentative contract, reports Reuters. The Air Line Pilots Association, the union representing the workers, relayed that ninety-four-percent of the nearly 10,000 United pilots voted against the corporation’s current offer. Delta pilots voted for a strike, if necessary, to secure a contract with the nation’s second-largest carrier, reports NBC News. “Negotiations to update pay and benefits between Delta pilots and the carrier, last settled in 2016, resumed in January following a two-year suspension due to the pandemic.”

Chicago Community Trust Names Andrea Sáenz Its First Latina President-CEO

“The Chicago Community Trust on Tuesday named Andrea Sáenz as its president and CEO, the first Latina to lead the 107-year-old organization,” reports the Sun-Times. “Sáenz most recently served as the foundation’s chief operating officer, as well as interim president and CEO. She succeeds Dr. Helene Gayle, who served as president and CEO October 2017-June 2022… ‘As an immigrant from Ecuador who grew up in Los Angeles and came to Chicago as an adult, I have long felt embraced by Chicago and energized by our city’s diversity, cultural vibrancy, and civic commitment,’ Sáenz said in a statement.”

Cantigny Park Celebrates Veterans Day

The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park will celebrate Veterans Day, Friday, November 11, with activities and programs for all ages. The official end of World War I occurred on November 11, 1918. America has observed November 11 ever since, first as Armistice Day, and since 1954 as Veterans Day. The holiday celebrates all veterans, living or dead, but especially gives thanks to those still with us today. Cantigny embraces this annual tradition. The museum will offer extended hours, staying open until 8pm, and Cantigny’s daily parking fee will be waived. Details here.

iPhone Factory Panic

Hoping to buy or upgrade an iPhone this holiday season? Hundreds reportedly have fled the largest factory in China that supplies Apple, reports the New York Times. “COVID lockdown measures have generated a wave of fear and unrest inside the world’s largest iPhone manufacturing complex, in north-central China, with stories of food shortages among quarantined employees filling social media, and large numbers of workers fleeing the facility. The plant, operated by Foxconn… went into lockdown in mid-October as coronavirus cases were rising in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province… Foxconn shut the facility off from the outside world, walling its roughly 200,000 workers inside its grounds. It banned eating in the factory’s cafeteria, forced employees to take long, circuitous routes from their dormitories to reduce contact with others, and required daily coronavirus testing and temperature checks.”

West African Dwarf Crocodile Hatches At Brookfield Zoo

The Chicago Zoological Society announces that a West African dwarf crocodile has hatched at Brookfield Zoo, and is believed to be the first crocodilian species to have hatched there. The month-and-a-half old scaly reptile made his public debut this week at the zoo’s Swamp habitat. The hatchling’s parents—the thirty-nine-year-old sire named Krackle and twenty-four-year-old mom Leviathan—arrived at Brookfield Zoo in April 2005 and May 2019, respectively. A female West African dwarf crocodile lays her eggs in a mound of leaves to keep them warm, and will guard the nest until the eggs hatch after a three-month incubation. The mother then carries her young in a throat pouch in her mouth to safely bring them to the water.

The West African dwarf crocodile is the world’s smallest crocodile; this one weighs about three ounces. Adults weigh between forty and seventy pounds and measure to an average of five-and-a-half to just over six feet long; this is ten feet smaller and two thousand pounds lighter than the largest crocodile species. This small-scale reptile is patterned with lighter colors when it first hatches and will darken as it matures, making it easy for them to blend in with the shadows at the river’s edge. The species is primarily found in the rainforest, swamps, and rivers of West Africa eating a diet of mostly small mammals and birds, fish and insects. The West African dwarf crocodile is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUNC) Red List of Threatened Species. Its numbers are declining due to habitat destruction in parts of its range as well as hunting for its meat and skin, which is used to make products. More on Brookfield Zoo here.

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