Welcome To Hyde Park

Re-Writing the Declaration
2025-05-24 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Greenline Performing Arts Center, 329 E. Garfield Boulevard, Chicago, 60637, United States
Re-Writing the Declaration
Catalyzed by the Movement for Black Lives, Re-Writing the Declaration is a devised, participatory play inviting audiences to center Black women, and femmes, nonbinary, and trans folx of color, in order to free us all.
A collage of time and space, a blend of character and self, the characters in Re-Writing the Declaration exist today and yesterday in order to change tomorrow. Believing that the founding fathers and documents never intended to include us, they consider the impacts of that founding on our lives today & realize it’s time to re-write the Declaration of Independence. On this journey, we visit some troubling moments in our collective past, while celebrating Blackness on the path towards freedom.
This devised theatre piece invites you to help shape the story. Your voice will directly influence the narrative through audience participation, making each performance unique and reflective of the people in the room. Together, we’ll craft a Declaration that includes the voices of all people — right when your voice matters most.

The Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry
2025-05-24 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-31 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

Ja' Grill Sunday Brunch
2025-05-24 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-31 11:00 - 16:00 | 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
2025-05-24 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-29 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-30 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-31 13:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-05 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.

CityStep Presents VOICES
2025-05-24 15:00 - 17:00 | St. Thomas the Apostle School, 5467 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, 60615, United States
CityStep Presents VOICES
CityStep, in conjunction with St. Thomas the Apostle School and Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, presents their Spring Dance Recital. Come and watch incredible performances by both groups.

Six Dollar Tuesdays at ACX Harper Theater
2025-05-27, 2025-06-03 | 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.

St. Thomas the Apostle Informational Session
2025-05-28
St. Thomas the Apostle Informational Session
💻 Learn More About STA – Join Our Open Zoom Call! 💙
Thinking about joining the STA family? 💭 Come learn what makes St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School a place where students grow in faith, academics, and community!
👂 Drop in, ask a question, or just listen!Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Time: 10 am-12 pm or 1 pm-3 pm
Hi there,
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: May 28, 2025 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/wBGfCJezTlWaEpX5ZdROqg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We’re here to connect with you—because choosing the right school matters! 💙 Reach out to sissa@stapostleschool.com with any questions.
#DiscoverSTA #STAPride #FutureRaiderFamilies

Committed Knitters
2025-05-28 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!

Book Talk & Podcast Salon: Black. Fat. Femme with DoctorJonPaul
2025-05-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Call & Response Books, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago, 60615
Join us on May 28 at 7 p.m. as we welcome educator, journalist, and academic Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins (also known as DoctorJonPaul) in celebrating their new book, Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices in Media and Learning to Love Yourself! DoctorJonPaul will be joined in a podcast salon-style conversation with Anna DeShawn, creator of E3 Radio and The Qube.
In Black. Fat. Femme, DoctorJonPaul delivers an honest and extraordinary new take on how the author, and other Black Fat Femmes like them, have come to find and understand their identity. They explore how standing at the intersection of multiple identities, communities, and causes shapes people and how they see the world; through this book readers get an up-close examination of the importance of meaningful representation and how Black Fat Femmes have been excluded and erased from LGBTQ+ communities and conversations.
All tickets cover the cost of, and include, silent headpones for the listening session as well as light bites and refreshments!
Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins (DoctorJonPaul) is an award-winning educator, professor, national speaker, freelance journalist, thought leader, and media critic who examines the intersections of identity, gender, and race in entertainment. Named the National Black Justice Coalition’s inaugural Emerging Leaders to Watch and Business Equality Magazine’s “Top 40 LGBTQ People Under 40,” their work has been featured on sites like Essence, Ebony, Complex, MTV News, OUT Magazine, BET & Entertainment Weekly. Dr. Higgins is currently the inaugural director of Strategic Media & Advocacy for Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance.
Anna DeShawn is a Chicago-born social entrepreneur, storyteller, and community organizer who builds streaming platforms that center and celebrate BIPOC and QTPOC creatives. She is the founder of E3 Radio, an online radio station playing Queer music and reporting on Queer news with an intersectional lens. She is additionally the co-founder of The Qube, a podcast production company and curated platform for discovering the best mustic and podcasts by BIPOC and QTPOC creatives.

Craft Meetup
2025-05-29 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-05-30 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-06-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Fiber Friends Studios, Inc., 1744 E 55th Street, Chicago, 60615
Be a part of a cozy crafting evening at Fiber Friends Studios! Enjoy the warmth of creativity while sipping on delicious hot tea. Join us for a night filled with fun and inspiration! All crafts and level welcome.

Black Bone
2025-05-30 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-05-31 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-01 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-02 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-06-05 19:30 - 21:30 | Definition Theatre, 1160 E. 55th Street, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Black Bone
About
An Amplify World Premiere by Tina Fakhrid-Deen, an Amplify Series Three winner, is a satirical fantasy blending a game show and real life. This uproarious story centers a cohort of Black academics at a predominantly white institution (PWI) who discover one amongst them is “passing” as Black. What follows is a chaotic unraveling: mutiny breaks out, panic ensues, and ultimately, fatal consequences—but not before some resort to a well-timed shuck and jive in a desperate bid for survival. How is Blackness defined or performed, and who holds the power to grant a ‘Black pass’?
by Tina Fakhrid-Deen
directed by Carla Stillwell
Get tickets HERE.

Early Childhood Fun Day at STA
2025-06-03 12:00 - 15:00 | St. Thomas the Apostle School, 5467 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, 60615, United States
Early Childhood Fun Day at STA
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School invites families with children in Preschool through 2nd Grade to our Early Childhood Fun Day! Join us for an exciting afternoon filled with face painters, carnival games, and so much more. This is a perfect opportunity to meet our dedicated teachers, visit the classrooms, and engage with current students and parents. Come see the joy, learning, and faith that fill our Early Childhood spaces every day. We want your child to have an education that exceeds your expectations—and it all starts here at STA!

MELONCHOLIA: A Black Rage Ritual
2025-06-04 07:00 - 21:00 | Greenline Performing Arts Center, 329 E. Garfield Boulevard, Chicago, 60637, United States
MELONCHOLIA: A Black Rage Ritual
Fibroids — mysterious uterine tumors prevalent in Black people — are often compared to fruit in size. Some are as small as blueberries while others grow as large as watermelons. Their origins continue to stump researchers, but some point to stress and repressed anger as a cause.
Who’s allowed to be angry? Repression is a form of social control that weakens both the physical and collective body. With no safe way to be expressed, our anger can turn inward, becoming shame and silence, powerlessness and pain. How can we reclaim our right to feel and express anger? What would transform — inside and around us — if we set our anger free?
Where does anger live in your body, and what does it want you to know? Join poet and Northwestern Feminist-in-Residence Kemi Alabi for a speculative theory of fibroids and fruit-filled Pride Month rage room. Featuring music by DJ Love Marie, fruit banquet and libations by Alexandra Antoine, and somatic support by Liberation Wellness, we’ll shake, smash, speak, feel, and air out what ails us.
7:00 – 7:30 | Call & Response
An interactive gallery walk. Enter the world of fibroids and share your own relationship to pain, stress, and anger.
7:30 – 8:00 | Opening the Vent
Doors close, vents open. An audio immersion, the pouring of libations, and a toast to begin.
8:00 – 8:45 | Rage Banquet
A fruit banquet table to dine on or smash. A shake space with vibes by DJ Love Marie. Somatic invitations to let the anger move you.
8:45 – 9:00 | The Balm
Closing it out with conversation, herbal supports, and calls to action.
Supported by the Northwestern Women’s Center in collaboration with UChicago Arts + Public Life.

Learn to Crochet - Amigurumi
2025-06-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Fiber Friends Studios, Inc., 1744 E 55th Street, Chicago, 60615
Learn to Crochet – Amigurumi
Join us on a delightful journey into the world of amigurumi! No prior crochet experience is necessary—just bring your enthusiasm for creating these charming little stuffed creations.
Get ready to have fun in this class as you make an adorable Watermelon Popsicle. You will learn to do single crochet, work into the back loops, and change colors when starting a new row. Additionally, you will pick up beginner embroidery techniques to add detail and personality to your popsicle.
All materials are provided— yarn, poly-fil, safety eyes, patterns, a crochet hook, and a darning needle.
When
Class is two parts, two hours each.
Thursday, Jun 5 & 12, 6:00 – 8:00
Meet your instructor
Karla Ocampo, a talented Latina fiber artist rooted in the Southside of Chicago, brings over two decades of crochet experience to her classes. With a background in fashion, Karla has turned her crochet skills into a unique form of art. As the owner and instructor at Karla Crochets, she creates stunning pieces and shares her passion and expertise with others. To truly appreciate her creativity and dedication, follow her on Instagram @karla_crochets.

Harper Court Summer Music Series - Isaiah Collier
2025-06-05 18:00 - 21:00 | 5235 S. Harper Court, 5235 S Harper Ct, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Harper Court Summer Music Series – Isaiah Collier
FREE OUTDOOR CONCERTS SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SILVER ROOM
Thursday, June 5ISAIAH COLLIER from 7-8 p.m.DJ DUANE POWELL from 6-7 and 8-9 p.m.
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.

To Washington Park, With Love: Book Talk & Signing with Rose Blouin
2025-06-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Call & Response Books, 1390 E Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago, 60615
To Washington Park, With Love: Book Talk & Signing with Rose Blouin
Join us on Thursday, June 5 in welcoming beloved Chicago photographer Rose Blouin as we celebrate and discuss her recently-published collection, To Washington Park With Love—a stunning collection of black-and-white photos capturing the events, landscape, and people of Washington Park during the summer of ’87. Come through if you have an interest in local Chicago history, if you want to excavate your own nostalgia, or if you just have a love for visual arts and photography!
Rose Blouin has created documentary and fine art photography since 1980. Blouin’s work has been exhibited in a number of museums and galleries including Woman Made Gallery, Nicole Gallery, The South Side Community Art Center, Artemesia Gallery, The North Suburban Fine Arts Center, Evanston Arts Center, and the State of Illinois Art Gallery. Her work has received awards in juried exhibitions including Tall Grass Arts “From Earth” exhibition, Black Creativity (Museum of Science and Industry), University of Chicago Logan Center for the Arts “Chicago Jazz: A Photographer’s View,” the DuSable Museum Annual Art Fair, and the Milwaukee Inner City Art Fair. Her photographs have been published on the covers of South Side Stories (City Stoop Press), Columbia Poetry Review (Columbia College Chicago), and Killing Memory, Seeking Ancestors by Haki Madhubuti (Lotus Press). Photos of Gwendolyn Brooks are included in Say That the River Turns: The Impact of Gwendolyn Brooks (Third World Press, 1991) and Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating The Writing Of Gwendolyn Brooks(Curbside Splendor, 2017.) Blouin has had solo shows at the South Side Community Art Center and at the Ferguson Gallery of Concordia University featuring photographs from South Africa. Most recently, Blouin mounted a solo exhibition of photographs from Havana at The New Studio in Evanston (2016). She is also a founding member of Sapphire & Crystals, a collective of African-American women artists.

Jazz in Harper Court - Jeremiah Collier & The Re-Up Band
2025-06-06 12:00 - 14:30 | 5235 S. Harper Court, 5235 S Harper Ct, Chicago, IL, 60615, United States
Jazz in Harper Court – Jeremiah Collier & The Re-Up Band
FREE OUTDOOR JAZZ PERFORMANCES SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Friday, June 6 – JEREMIAH COLLIER & THE RE-UP BANDFriday, July 11 – BETHANY PICKENSFriday, August 8 – DEE ALEXANDERFriday, 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.
