Entertainment

Best bets: Fests of frights and apples

Posted September 25, 2012 6:00 am

By Scott C. Morgan

Those who dare can tour the Mausoleum of Terror and mingle with some creepy characters as part of Frightfest at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee.

Scream and shout

Starting on Saturday, the monsters and creatures of Fright Fest once again take over Six Flags Great America at I-94 and Grand Ave., Gurnee. $61.99; $41.99 for kids under 48 inches tall. (847) 294-4636 or sixflags.com. Schedule varies on weekends (with select Thursday and Fridays hours) from Saturday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 28

Pieces of Liberty

Full-scale copper sections of the Statue of Liberty are reproduced and displayed as part of Danh Vo's ongoing worldwide project “We The People,” now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago's Pritzker Garden and Bluhm Family Terrace, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, and at the University of Chicago's Law School, Booth Business School and the Oriental Institute Museum. Free admission at University of Chicago locations. Part of $16-$18 general admission for Art Institute. (312) 443-3600 or artic.edu; (773) 702-8670 or renaissancesociety.org. Now through Sunday, Dec. 16; Art Institute hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. Thursday); Renaissance Society hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Apples aplenty

More than 50 shops and restaurants create seasonal gifts and treats as part of Long Grove's 20th Annual Apple Festival this weekend at Long Grove Historic Village on Old McHenry Road, Long Grove. $5, kids under age 12 admitted free. (847) 634-0888 or longgroveonline.com. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Sept. 28-30

Dickens effects

Commemorate the bicentennial of Charles Dickens' birth with the exhibit “Dickens: 200 Years of Celebrity,” which features personal items owned by the great Victorian author starting Monday at the Lake County Discovery Museum, $6; $3 seniors; $2.50 kids ages 4 to 17. Discounts on Tuesdays. (847) 968-3400 or lcfpd.org. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday; exhibit continues through Feb. 24

Great Gershwin

Cabaret star and musicologist Michael Feinstein performs songs by George and Ira Gershwin with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra this Saturday at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. $32-$92. (800) 982-2787 or auditoriumtheatre.org. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29

Classical fusion

The Chicago Sinfonietta, under the direction of Mei-Ann Chen, teams up with the New York ensemble PROJECT Trio for two performances of the concert “Performance. Art.” — first at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, then at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. $40-$50 in Naperville; $26-$50; $10 students in Chicago. (312) 236-3681 ext. 2 or chicagosinfonietta.org. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 in Naperville; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1 in Chicago

Amish tragedy

Performing Arts at Oakton presents Jessica Dickey's drama “The Amish Project,” which was inspired by the killing of five girls at a Pennsylvania Amish school in 2006. The staged reading is this weekend at Oakton Community College's Studio One, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. $8. (847) 635-1900 or oakton.edu. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30

Jersey boy

Comedian and New Jersey native Bret Ernst (“Weeds,” “Love Games: Bad Girls Need Love Too”) performs standup starting Wednesday at Zanies at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. $23 plus a two-item menu purchase. (630) 584-6342 or zanies.com. 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 3 and 4; 8 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5; 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6

New commission

The African-American and Latino youth orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi teams up with the female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock and the Chicago Children's Choir for a new commissioned piece on Thursday at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. $10-$35. (312) 334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4

Apples and apple treats are the stars of the annual Long Grove Apple Fest. Courtesy of Kelley Happ

The Renaissance Society presents an exhibition of Danh Vo's ongoing project “We The People,” which features fragments of scale copper reproductions of The Statue of Liberty, at both the Art Institute of Chicago and University of Chicago locations like the Oriental Institute Museum.

See personal affects of 19th century author Charles Dickens in the exhibit Dickens: 200 Years of Celebrity at the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda.

Mei-Ann Chen, music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, leads a concert titled "Performance. Art." in Naperville and Chicago.

Comedian Bret Ernst performs through Saturday at Zanies in St. Charles.

The womens a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock will perform a newly commissioned piece with Sphinx Virtuosi and the Chicagos Childrens Choir at Millennium Parks Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago.

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Chicago Communities Des Plaines Entertainment Gurnee Long Grove Naperville News Oak Park Region St. Charles Wauconda

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