Welcome To Hyde Park

Ja' Grill Sunday Brunch
2025-08-30 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-06 11:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Ja’ Grill, 1510 E. Harper Court, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Ja’ Grill Sunday Brunch
Hyde Park’s Ja’ Grill, located at 1510 E. Harper Court, began a new Sunday brunch service on Sunday, January 26.
The weekly Sunday brunch hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with all-you-can-eat options served family-style for $30 per person. Cocktail options include carafes of everyone’s favorite Ja’ Rum Punch, a Ja’ Mimosa, and Ja’ Bloody Mary.
Brunch menu items will rotate periodically, but diners can look forward to Jerk Chicken & Waffles, Ackee & Saltfish, Scrambled Eggs & Jerk Chicken Sausage, and more.
Ja’ Grill owner Tony Coates celebrated the restaurant’s 10th anniversary in August 2024, reflecting to the Hyde Park Herald, “We were well received well beyond what I would imagine. We opened the doors and, I say this without any hesitation, the Hyde Park community really embraced us and that’s why we’re open today.”
Coates commented, “Our regular customers have asked about adding a brunch menu many times, and we’re very excited to try out this new offering. Ja’ Grill is the perfect place to enjoy your Sunday morning and afternoon with our authentic Jamaican cuisine and extensive drink menu.”
Ja’ Grill is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. There’s a Tropical Happy Hour Monday through Thursday from 4-6 p.m. During NFL season fans can enjoy an Extended Happy Hour from 4 p.m. until closing time on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Don’t miss Wine Down Wednesday with 1/2 price bottles of white, red, and sparkling wines.
Visit the Ja’ Grill website and follow on Instagram for more information about specials and events.

the undercommons : New Work by Brandon Carlton
2025-08-30 13:00 - 17:00 | UChicago Arts Incubator, 301 E. Garfield Boulevard, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Arts + Public Life presents the undercommons, the first solo exhibition by painter Brandon Carlton. The exhibition explores the complexities of contemporary Black life through Carlton’s distinct approach to stylized figuration. Drawing influence from Alex Katz, David Hockney, and Jordan Casteel, his work engages with portraiture and spatial composition to evoke intimacy, distance, presence, and longing.
Carlton’s paintings consider the undercommons as a site of fugitive sociality—an ungovernable space where collective life unfolds beyond dominant structures. His figures occupy liminal environments, neither fully contained nor entirely free, reflecting a continuous negotiation of belonging, agency, and historical memory. Inspired by Casteel’s attention to everyday Black life and the layered surfaces of Katz and Hockney, Carlton’s work reimagines the aesthetics of presence, using gesture, color, and space to suggest ways of seeing and being that resist fixed narratives.

Hyde Park Farmers Market
2025-08-31 09:00 - 14:00, 2025-09-07 09:00 - 14:00 | Hyde Park Bank Parking Lot, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Hyde Park Farmers Market
The South East Chicago Commission and Special Service Area #61 proudly present the Hyde Park Farmers Market, thanks to the partnership of Hyde Park Bank. The new market reveals an entirely fresh look with all new logistics, giving residents and visitors a chance to shop on the weekends and experience an infusion of healthy food, lifestyles, arts and culture.
Shoppers will find fresh produce from local Illinois farms, freshly baked breads and desserts, beautiful plants, packaged foods, personal beauty supplies, and traditional farmers market fare. Several market vendors accept Mastercard and Visa, LinkUp and SNAP payments in addition to cash.

The Hyde Park Farmers Market:

Each Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
1516 E 54th St – 54th Street and Old Lake Park Ave West
(Hyde Park Bank parking lot)
Facebook Page
Instagram Page

The Market begins with the grand opening on Sunday, June 1 and the season continues through Sunday, September 28, 2025. You are invited to experience the new energy, entertainment, community engagement and a fantastically-curated collection of vendors.

35th Annual African Festival of the Arts
2025-08-31 10:00 - 21:30, 2025-09-01 10:00 - 21:30 | Washington Park, 5531 S. King Drive, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
35th Annual African Festival of the Arts

Wèrèwèrèya: The Return
Celebrating 35 Years of Transformation, Culture & Legacy

Join us Labor Day Weekend for the 2025 African Festival of the Arts – a powerful homecoming of rhythm, art, spirit, and community.
🗓️ August 30 – September 1, 2025
Saturday, Sunday & Monday
10 AM – 9:30 PM EVERY DAY
📍Sunken Garden, DuSable Museum – Chicago

Click HERE to buy tickets.

Circulate Shopping Event - Recycled Modern
2025-08-31 13:00 - 15:00 | Recycled Modern, 5231 S. Harper Court, Chicago, 60615, United States
Circulate Shopping Event – Recycled Modern
It’s Black Business Month!!🙌🏽😎❤️
And our next featured business is Recycled Modern in Hyde Park🤑
Join us on August 31st from 1 to 3 pm to love bomb this small biz!!
Owner Shari is an expert curator who has put together such a special collection of items in her shop.
Labor Day Weekend can be hit or miss for retail shops with people traveling for the holiday. Let’s guarantee that it’s a HIT!
SHARE and See you there!!

Six Dollar Tuesdays at ACX Harper Theater
2025-09-02, 2025-09-09 | Harper Theater, 5238 S. Harper Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Six Dollar Tuesdays at ACX Harper Theater
Don’t miss $6 Tuesdays at the ACX Harper Theater in Hyde Park!
Movie tickets are just $6/person and a small soft drink, small popcorn, or hotdog are just $3 each.
Visit the ACX Harper Theater at 5238 S. Harper Avenue. Check showtimes HERE.

Tuesday Meet and Greet
2025-09-02 17:00 - 20:00 | Ja’ Grill, 1510 E. Harper Court, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Welcome to Tuesday Meet and Greet! Join us at Ja’ Grill Hyde Park for a fun-filled evening of networking and socializing. This is a chance to reconnect with people you have not seen in a while, enjoying good food and drinks. This event is perfect for making new friends and contacts. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet new people and enjoy great conversations. See you there!

Book Talk: Full of Myself with Austin Channing Brown and Nikole Hannah-Jones
2025-09-02 19:00 - 20:30 | Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Book Talk: Full of Myself with Austin Channing Brown and Nikole Hannah-Jones
***Each ticket includes a copy of Full of Myself; Austin will be available to sign copies and meet attendees following the event!***
Join us as we celebrate the release of New York Times bestselling author Austin Channing Brown’s latest book, Full of Myself: Black Womanhood and the Journey to Self-Possession! Austin will be joined in conversation with journalist and academic Nikole Hannah-Jones!
In a time of rising authoritarianism and attacks on personal freedoms, the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here chronicles her efforts to live as her full self in a society that wants women—and Black women in particular—to do anything but that.
As an antiracism educator and writer leading through America’s cycles of racial unrest, Austin Channing Brown reached a crossroads. “I love my work,” she writes, “and I am tired. We are tired. Tired of protesting. Tired of ‘saving democracy.’ Tired of educating and explaining.” She began to ask, “What do I deserve, not just as a citizen but as a human?”Full of Myself answers that question.
Weaving personal narrative with perceptive social commentary, Brown offers a look at the mechanisms that limit who Black women are allowed to be—at work, at home, in community—and the defining moments when she decided that self-possession is the justice work she had been made to undervalue. From skinny-dipping in the ocean to becoming a mom, she delves into the drama of life and invites readers to begin defining themselves not as empty vessels to improve the world, but as people born free in spirit, in hope, in joy. For Black women seeking to understand the true roots of their burnout, or for anyone wondering what it means to live joyfully in a hostile world, Full of Myself is a breath of fresh air and an invitation to full humanity.
Austin Channing Brown is an author and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her work has been featured by outlets such as On Being, Chicago Tribune, and WNYC.
Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is the founding director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Her reporting has earned her the Pulitzer Prize and the MacArthur “Genius” Grant.

Speak Confidently: Toastmasters Pathfinders In-Person Meeting
2025-09-02 19:00 - 21:00 | University Church, 5655 S. University Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Boost your public speaking skills with Toastmasters Pathfinders in our fun and interactive in-person meeting!

Committed Knitters
2025-09-03 11:00 - 15:00 | UChicago Arts Incubator, 301 E. Garfield Boulevard, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Committed Knitters
Arts Incubator: flex space (second floor)
Wednesdays 12:00-3:00 pm
Committed Knitters welcomes you to our bi-weekly gatherings at the Arts Incubator Flex Space! Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just picking up needles for the first time, there’s a spot for you. Share ideas, make progress on your projects, and enjoy a cozy, creative time with us!
We’ve got supplies ready for you.
Just drop in—no registration needed!

Sunset Yoga
2025-09-03 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-09-10 19:00 - 20:00 | The Arts Lawn, 335 E. Garfield Blvd, Chicago, 60637
Sunset Yoga
Unwind with a gentle Hatha yoga flow as the sun dips below the horizon. This slower-paced take on the classic sun salutation is designed to ease you into the summer night and is open to all experience levels. The experience includes offerings to engage all your senses: herbal iced teas and fruit waters to support hydration and the immune system, essential oil blends informed by herbalism and Ayurveda to calm the nervous system, and Tibetan singing bowls to transition you out of śavāsana and back into a peaceful evening. Led by yoga instructor Rhya Moffitt, with special guest offerings in alignment with the themes of each month.
Sunset Yoga will be offered for three months, each with a specific focus:

July: “Root” will focus on grounding and creating home and stability within the body and mind

August: “Express” meditates on the power of the voice and its necessary connection to the heart to communicate truth authentically and courageously

September: “Imagine” explores the importance of the imagination within a world that strives toward oppressive conformity, emphasizing the freeing power of seeing the world anew as a necessary first step to worldbuilding and collective transformation

Drawing on connections between yoga and Black liberation struggles (ex. Rose Parks’ and Angela Davis’ yoga practices in prison), artistic practice (Alice Coltrane), and personal sustenance (Harriet Jacobs’ movement and meditative practices during her seven years in the garret while enslaved), this unique program supports self care by invoking Black radical ancestors and contemporaries (ex. Cole Arthur Riley of Black Liturgies).
Sunset Yoga will take place rain or shine! In the case of inclement weather, we’ll move the session indoors so you can still enjoy your practice in a calm and welcoming environment. Keep an eye on your email or our social media for any location updates.

DuSummer Thursdays Outdoor Music Series
2025-09-04 18:00 - 20:00 | The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
DuSummer Thursdays Outdoor Music Series
Join us for a summer of unforgettable sounds at the DuSummer Thursdays Outdoor Music Series at the DuSable Museum! From jazz to soul and everything in between, enjoy an exciting lineup of Chicago’s finest talent—live and outdoors on the Roundhouse Plaza.
Doors open at 5:00 PM
Show starts at 6:00 PM
Free Admission Register Here
Performance Lineup:

June 26 – Josiah Maddox, Ox Jam, and Vince Adams
July 10 – Thaddeus Tukes
July 24 – Hector Silveira
August 7 – Joyce Hurley with Park and Ride
August 21 – Simone Green
September 7 – Marqueal Jordan
September 18 – The J Grant Experience

Let the music move you this summer at DuSable!

Harper Court Summer Music Series - 2nd Annual Hyde Park Best Steppers Contest with DJ Eric ET Taylor
2025-09-04 18:00 - 21:00 | 5235 S. Harper Court, 5235 S Harper Ct, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Harper Court Summer Music Series – 2nd Annual Hyde Park Best Steppers Contest with DJ Eric ET Taylor
FREE OUTDOOR CONCERTS SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SILVER ROOM
Thursday, September 42ND ANNUAL BEST STEPPERS CONTEST WITH DJ ERIC “ET” TAYLOR
Harper Court, 5235 S. Harper Court, Hyde Park (53rd Street and S. Lake Park Avenue).www.harpercourtmusic.com.

ParkingPaid parking is available in the Harper Court garage (entrance on S. Lake Park Avenue just south of McDonald’s) or in the surface lot on S. Harper Avenue. Paid street parking is also available. We encourage you to take public transportation or carpool.

SeatingSeating is not provided – please bring folding chairs, but remember to leave lots of room from dancing!

DiningEnjoy Bob’s Pizza, Chipotle, Daisy’s Po’ Boy & Tavern, Deep Purpl, Ja’ Grill, Roti Modern Mediterranean, Stan’s Donuts & Coffee, and Strugglebeard Bakery – all in Harper Court. Or sample one of the many great eateries on 53rd Street. For a complete list of restaurants go to welcometohydepark.com.

Shop LocalSupport our neighborhood businesses by shopping local. Recycled Modern and Suuri Design are in Harper Court, and The Silver Room and other shops are right around the corner. For a complete list of stores go to welcometohydepark.com.

Jazz in Harper Court - Tim Gant Project
2025-09-05 12:00 - 14:30 | 5235 S. Harper Court, 5235 S Harper Ct, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Jazz in Harper Court – Tim Gant Project
FREE OUTDOOR JAZZ PERFORMANCES SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Friday, September 5 – TIM GANT PROJECT
Harper Court, 5235 S. Harper Court, Hyde Park (53rd Street and S. Lake Park Avenue).www.hpjazz.com

ParkingThe Harper Court parking structure will offer limited free parking between 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Standard parking rates will apply for those entering the garage before 10 a.m. or exiting after 4 p.m. Enter on S. Lake Park Avenue just south of McDonald’s.

SeatingPlease bring your favorite chair. Limited seating will be available, but we cannot guarantee seats. Please, no seat saving.

DiningEnjoy Bob’s Pizza, Chipotle, Daisy’s Po-Boy & Tavern, Deep Purpl, Ja’ Grill, Roti Modern Mediterranean, Stan’s Donuts & Coffee, and Strugglebeard Bakery – all in Harper Court. Or sample one of the many great eateries on 53rd Street. For a complete list of restaurants go to welcometohydepark.com.

Shop LocalSupport our neighborhood businesses by shopping local. Recycled Modern and Suuri Design are in Harper Court, and The Silver Room and other shops are right around the corner. For a complete list of stores go to welcometohydepark.com.

Ja' Grill Summer Patio Series
2025-09-05 16:00 - 21:00
Ja’ Grill Summer Patio Series
Don’t miss Ja’ Grill every Friday for vibe-filled nights on the patio! ☀️🌴
Good food, tropical drinks, and the smooth sounds of DJ Mark Flava spinning R&B, reggae, and soul 🎶🍹
Tropical Happy Hour 4–6 PM • Patio Party 4–9 PM
Tell a friend and pull up! 🔥

Echoes of Bengal: Folk Music & Dance (NOITP Chicago Series - Second Show)
2025-09-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Nichols Park, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Ochin Pakhi, “The Unknown Bird,” presents ecstatic songs of the Baul and Fakir, musical mystics from West Bengal, India and Bangladesh. Soulful singers Subhajit Sengupta and Swarnali Banerjee are accompanied by irresistible grooves of tabla and other percussion beneath sweeping chords of accordion with cello and showered by earthy plucking of traditional instruments like dotara and khamok. Their arrangements are deeply rooted in Bengali folk tradition, yet have their own Chicago twist, bringing cultures together. The centuries-old lyrics cry out for an end to discrimination, for recognizing our common humanity, and for seeking truth and God within each of us.
Ochin Pakhi, co-founded by Subhajit Sengupta, is a Bengali band that specializes in Baul and Fakir folk songs, traditions from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. The band’s mission is to spread Bengali music and culture across the United States, making the rich and meaningful lyrics accessible through translations, discussions, and performances.
Since 2017, they’ve performed at various venues in Chicago, showcasing Bengal’s cultural heritage. The band includes cellist Dr. Molly Greening and violinist Lucia Thomas, both of whom studied this music in India. Thomas is a two-time Fulbright fellow, emphasizing the band’s commitment to cultural exchange.
Ochin Pakhi fosters a vibrant music-loving community in Chicago’s Rogers Park, holding weekly outdoor rehearsals during summer, inviting locals to participate, creating a shared environment of mutual respect and love.

Outdoor Meditation in the Garden of the Phoenix
2025-09-06 08:00 - 11:00 | Garden of the Phoenix, 6401 South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
Outdoor Meditation in the Garden of the Phoenix
Join us for summer outdoor Introduction to Zen Meditation sessions at the historic Garden of the Phoenix located on Wooden Island in Jackson Park in Hyde Park. These sessions are held every other Saturday and are open to anyone interested in learning the basics of Zen meditation (zazen).
Each session covers basic information about Zen, including posture, breathing, and the mental aspects of meditation. There will also be time for questions and discussion. No experience is required. A limited number of cushions will be provided—participants are encouraged to bring their own if possible.
A signed waiver is required to participate. Click here to complete the waiver.
Additional info: Always be respectful of the space, the practice, and other practitioners. Wear plain, dark-colored, loose clothing so you can sit for the entire period of teaching and practice without discomfort; most jeans are unsuitable. Shorts, short skirts, and revealing clothes are not allowed. Silence cell phones so as not to disturb others. Move around the space mindfully, and do not make unnecessary noise. Participants should expect to sit cross-legged for extended periods. Please arrive at the event start time or slightly before it so as not to disturb others.
We look forward to practicing with you.

The Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry
2025-09-06 10:00 - 13:00 | Hyde Park Union Church, 5600 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60637
The Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry
The food pantry, located at Hyde Park Union Church, provides nonperishable groceries and limited refrigerated and frozen foods to 500 to 800 people every month on Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm.
We serve the area of 39th – 63rd St., Cottage Grove east to Lake Michigan, and patrons can come twice a month. All will be served on their first visit, regardless of residency. If you are looking for food outside of our service area or hours, you can visit the website of the Greater Chicago Food depository to find additional services.
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Volunteers order food, unload deliveries, pre-pack bags and distribute food. ​If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Church Office or Margy Mitchell, the Food Pantry coordinator.
Time and Location
Every Saturday (including Christmas, New Year’s Day, and July 4th) from 10 am to 1 pm;
Hyde Park Union Church
5600 S. Woodlawn — enter by the side door at 1169 E. 56th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

St. Thomas the Apostle School - End of Summer Picnic
2025-09-07 11:00 - 14:00 | St. Thomas the Apostle School, 5467 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, 60615, United States
St. Thomas the Apostle School – End of Summer Picnic
St. Thomas invites you to the End of Summer Picnic on Sunday, September 11 starting at 11 a.m. at 5467 S. Woodawn Avenue.
• $1 beers
• Arts, crafts, and raffle
• Food and drinks
• Games for all ages

Fill Me Up Again | The Debut Play from Ellen Black-Pace
2025-09-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Definition Theatre, 1160 E. 55th Street, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Join us for the premiere of Ellen Black-Pace’s first play, where you’ll be filled up with laughter, tears, and pure entertainment!

Chicago Bears Game Day Specials at Mesler
2025-09-08 | Mesler Kitchen | Bar | Lounge, 1411 E. 53rd Street, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Chicago Bears Game Day Specials at Mesler
Mesler Kitchen | Bar | Lounge is the place to be every Chicago Bears game day through September.

Pre- and post-game Sanctuary Hours
Weekly Wing Specials
Complimentary “Bear Down” Cocktail (while supplies last)
Watch the game on our 85″ television

View the complete Chicago Bears schedule HERE.

Tour the Arts Block
2025-09-08 18:15 - 19:00 | Arts + Public Life, 301 East Garfield Blvd, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States
You’re invited to take a walking tour of all four venues managed by Arts + Public Life: Arts Incubator, Green Line Performing Arts Center, L1 Retail Store, and the Arts Lawn. We will discuss the rich cultural history and current context of the Arts Block as it relates to the Washington Park neighborhood and offer details about the purpose and function of the venues along the historic block of East Garfield Boulevard. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about the APL programs and community engagement initiatives.
We are excited to add a stop at the forthcoming Chicago Torture Justice Memorial. Towards the end of the Arts Block tour, at the corner of 55th Place and King Drive, a member of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation will lead a brief tour segment. You will learn about the forthcoming public memorial mandated by the historic 2015 reparations legislation for survivors of police torture, and how it is designed as a hub for community organizing, job training and employment, arts and culture programming, and field trips for CPS students learning the Reparations Won! curriculum.
The tour will begin at the Green Line Performing Arts Center, 329 E. Garfield Blvd, and is 45 minutes.
This tour is before our September First Monday Jazz performance featuring Tom Tom’s Big Band. We invite you to register and join us for this performance!

First Monday Jazz: Tom Tom's Big Band
2025-09-08 19:00 - 21:00 | The Arts Lawn, 335 E. Garfield Blvd, Chicago, 60637
Launched in 2013, First Monday Jazz is APL’s longest-running program, featuring emerging and established Chicago musicians and vocalists on the first Monday of every month.

This year, First Monday Jazz 2025: Big Band Summer takes us on a journey back to the golden age of big band jazz in Chicago. As the 1920s exploded with musical energy from the South mixed with a growing nightlife culture, our city became an epicenter where the raw spirit of early jazz blossomed into the power of larger ensembles. Imagine the scene: bustling cabarets, elegant ballrooms like the Savoy (on 47th and King Drive), and grand theaters such as the Regal hosting musical forces that would define an era. In this electric atmosphere, bandleaders like the legendary Earl Hines helped shape the big band sound, known for its tight arrangements, bold horn sections, and driving rhythm perfect for dancing.

Our September artist is Tom Tom’s Big Band
Driven by a passion for instrumental music, Tom Tom’s Big Band unites some of Chicago’s finest musicians to keep this American art form alive—and to inspire the next generation by helping revive band programs in public schools.
Pianist, arranger, and producer, Tom “Tom Tom” Washington was raised in the Ida B. Wells projects on Chicago’s South Side. He began his music career playing the drums and later transitioned to the keyboard. He received formal music training from influential professor and musical arranger James Mack at Crane Junior College, and went on to arrange dozens of records for Chicago music legends, including Earth, Wind & Fire, The Emotions, Tyrone Davis, Deniece Williams, The Staple Singers, Ramsey Lewis, Leroy Hutson, The Chi-Lites, Otis Leavill, Betty Everett, Jerry Butler, and Loleatta Holloway

Notes:

Attendees may start setting up their spots starting at 6:30pm. The program begins at 7pm.

We encourage bringing your blanket or a low-profile lawn chair to relax in the front seating on the grass. APL provides some seating, but seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For APL events on the Arts Lawn, restrooms are available inside the Green Line Performing Arts Center.

Arts + Public Life’s outdoor programming on the Arts Lawn will proceed rain or shine unless there are hazardous conditions. Plan accordingly and check APL’s social media channels for real-time updates. Changes to programming related to weather conditions will be announced no earlier than one hour prior to programming. We appreciate your understanding and commitment to community safety.

Money Talks - Free Financial Seminar
2025-09-09 17:00 - 18:30 | Southside STEM Station, 1520 E. Harper Court, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Money Talks – Free Financial Seminar

Join us to learn ways to talk to your children about the importance of managing money. From helpful tips to valuable conversation starters, these are smart lessons that can help them for a lifetime. The seminar will be lead by Hyde Park resident Bennie Currie, principal of MBC Financial Strategies and finacial professional for New York Life.
Tuesday, September 9
5-6:30 p.m.
Southside STEM Station
1520 E. Harper Court, Chicago, IL 60615

Canto-Kójo: Reading Series and Bloodmercy Book Launch
2025-09-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Call & Response Books, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago, 60615
In Yorùbá the word “kojo” means “to gather”. In Spanish, “canto” means “to sing”. In our efforts to gather community together, we hope to make something new sing. With that, the inaugural Canto-Kójo Reading Series launches on September 11, 2025 at 7 PM. The inaugural session will be accompanied by the launch of Chicago-based poet I.S. Jones’ debut collection, Bloodmercy. Reception to follow!
Selected by Nicole Sealey as the winner of the 2025 APR/Honickman First Book Prize,Bloodmercy is a must-read debut that reimagines the tale of Cain and Abel as sisters.
“Violence is a failure of communication” opens this book as an omen and foregrounds a family exiled from Eden. In I.S. Jones’s stunning and evocative debut collection, Cain and Abel are reimagined as sisters whose care for each other becomes increasingly fraught–the siblings vicious as they vie for the attention of a negligent father. Parallel to this, their bodies budding within and against the still-forming landscape, the girls navigate the shame of Eve’s sin while coming into their own sexuality.
Grounded in the remote natural world, enclosed by firs and redwoods, Bloodmercy follows Cain and Abel through the dense geography of girlhood into young womanhood. Along the way, they discover the limits of power and control, spite and sex, faith and death, and man’s dominion over the earth. Found in the space between the Old Testament and the modern world, the girls gaze heavenward and pose enduring questions to God. Lyrical, lush, and bursting with tender imagination, Bloodmercy marks a debut to watch.
I.S. Jones is an American/Nigerian poet, editor, essayist, and former music journalist. She is a Graduate Fellow with The Watering Hole and holds fellowships from Hedgebrook Callaloo, BOAAT Writer’s Retreat, Brooklyn Poets, and Bread Loaf, where she was the 2023 Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in poetry. Jones co-edited The Young African Poets Anthology: The Fire That is Dreamed Of (Agbowó, 2020) and served as the inaugural nonfiction guest editor for Lolwe. She is an editor at 20:35 Africa: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry and has freelanced for Complex, Revolt TV, NBC News THINK,and elsewhere.
Yazud E. Brito-Milian (they/them) is a Chicane poet, impatient collagist, abolitionist, and eldest sister. Born in Winston-Salem, NC, and based in Chicago, IL, they are working on their first chapbook, crossfade, dedicated to their dad’s black and yellow KORG M50 and the musicians who raised them. Yazud received fellowships from The Watering Hole, Periplus, and CantoMundo. Their work can be found in Muzzle Magazine, Voicemail Poems, The Poetry Project, and Huizache Magazine.
