My brew heaven
Beer: It’s what’s for dinner. At least, that’s how we plan our repasts. Fortunately, Andersonville’s Hopleaf Bar is of the same mind; the spot’s cooked up an event featuring four dark ales from Quebec brewery Unibroue paired with our other favorite meal of the day, chocolate. And this is the good stuff, not that vending-machine variety; Hopleaf’s got eight kinds of goodies from Vosges Haut-Chocolat. For once, we volunteer to taste test. 6 p.m. Sunday. $30. 5148 N. Clark St. 773-334-9851.
May the fest be with you
After months of waiting, our favorite excuse to eat meat on sticks and drink in the streets is just around the corner. Kick off fest season with the 10th Annual Lakeview Mayfest, featuring food, beer and vendor booths. There’s also a Miss Mayfest competition (9 p.m. Saturday) and a pet parade (noon Sunday). And get ready to rock alfresco with Hairbanger’s Ball (8 p.m. Friday) and Mike & Joe (8 p.m. Sunday). Check metromix.com for a full music lineup. 4 p.m. Friday; noon Saturday-Sunday. $5. Intersection of Ashland and Barry Avenues, 3100 N. Ashland Ave. 773-665-4682.
Interior Deco
It’s time to upgrade from that filthy futon and flea-infested quilt. Yeah, we understand nostalgia, but Febreze can only do so much. Listen up when designer M. Grace Sielaff gives a talk on Art Deco interiors. The lady’s got cred; she’s been featured on HGTV and MTV’s upcoming “Pimp My Game.” 4 p.m. Friday. Free; artwork raffle benefits AIDS relief. Deuter & Levand Gallery, 153 W. Ohio St. 312-464-0140.
Joy of Sox
The No. 1 team in baseball battles the sport’s, well, not-so-No. 1s (let’s face the facts, folks) this weekend in the annual pitting of North Side vs. South Side, blue vs. black, fan vs. fan. The Cubs and Sox Crosstown Classic is bound to stir up a sibling rivalry or two, but after you’re done duking it out, grab your sis or bro and make up over a pint of PBR at Crush’s Sox Rox party. Large-screen TVs will show the game at this “unofficial North Side White Sox headquarters,” plus there’s a seventh-inning stretch raffle of Sox stuff, as well as $2 drafts, $10 Miller Lite buckets, $4 mixed drinks and two-for-one appetizers. Noon. Free. 2843 N. Halsted St. 773- 528-7569.
The hunt club
There are loads of ways to score a free T-shirt, but participating in a scavenger hunt sounds a lot more fun than running a marathon or signing up for one more soon-to-be-debt-ridden credit card. In addition to a free T (for the first 150 registrants), cop loads of fun when you enter the competitive Snoop Around the Loop, and answer kooky questions about monuments and history. Tickets include appetizers, beer and burritos. 2 p.m. Saturday. $40. Register online at broadtree.org. The Columbia Yacht Club, 111 N. Lake Shore Drive. 773-292-5188.
Wisteria wrap-up
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we really, really need a spa day right about now. That’s why we’re heading to Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club’s “Desperate Housewives” season finale party. In addition to showing the episode on five jumbo screens, the campy cafe offers half-price martinis and a “Most Desperate Housewife” competition. The winner scores $1,500 in laser skin services and a day at a local spa. Did we happen to mention how hard vacuuming is? 8 p.m. Sunday. No cover. 3700 N. Halsted St. 773-525-1111.
Where java flows like water
What’s not natural about indulging our gluttonous side in a fountain of Starbucks Coffee Liqueur? Absolutely nothing. Count us in for the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s Spring Bash, which–in addition to the cascading fountain of alcoholic, caffeinated glory–features a martini buffet, wine, beer, a silent auction and appetizers. 7 p.m. Friday. $75-$110. Benefits the RJS Breast Cancer Help Foundation. 2430 N. Cannon Drive. 312-642-5097.
Velvet revolution
We hate to see a good hang go by the wayside. Velvet Lounge, the South Side bastion of big jazz, is losing its lease and needs to raise some serious cash to open up shop elsewhere. Help owner (and super saxophonist) Fred Anderson raise money for new digs at the Velvet Lounge Fundraiser, featuring music from Malachi Thompson, Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble and more. 1 p.m. Sunday. $20. HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo Drive. 312-362-9707.
Break a leg
So, you’ve been harboring fantasies of running off to Paris and shopping your singing chops around the cabarets. The Moulin Rouge Live Cast Tryouts presents a chance a bit closer to home. Loews Pipers Alley is ramping up for a new “Rocky Horror”-style live show to accompany an indefinite run of the film “Moulin Rouge.” Zip up that can-can skirt, strap on your velvet choker and get ready to give Nicole Kidman clones a run for their money. 10:30 p.m. Friday. Free when you audition in full costume; $9.50 for those who’d just like to watch. 1608 N. Wells St. 312-755-0888.
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jwehunt@tribune.com
