Suburban and city events
Biting home
The Chicago Wolves Hockey home opener is this weekend against the Milwaukee Admirals. There'll be a tailgate party in the parking lot with music, food, games and an appearance by the mascot, Skates. Also on tap is the Wolves' first "Adopt-A-Dog Night" with an appearance by the Animal Care and Control's "Animobile." Get your oversized hockey jerseys on and start howling.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont
Cost: $9-$50
Info: (312) 559-1212 or www.chicagowolves.com
Coral fabrications
Australian identical twins Christine and Margaret Wertheim are the masterminds behind the traveling "Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef." Made largely of yarn, the handmade reef replicates looped kelps, fringed anemones and curlicued sponges -- all to increase environmental awareness of the world's endangered marine wonders. Local artisans with the Jane Addams Hull-House have contributed to the ever-growing exhibit.
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; through Dec. 16
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago
Cost: No charge
Info: (312) 744-6630 or www.chicagoculturalcenter.org
iPod integration
Choreographer Merce Cunningham may be in his 80s, but that doesn't mean he's averse to new technology. One of his latest dances, "eyeSpace," incorporates Apple iPods to help disseminate the sound score. Other works from Cunningham's long career fill out the two differing program on each night. The Dance Center of Columbia College presents the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago. Tickets are $20-$50. Call (312) 344-6600 or visit www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
8 p.m. today and Saturday
Celebrate the dark
North America's largest Gothic subculture festival returns to Chicago with "Gothicfest," featuring DJs and vendors with all sorts of dark merchandise available for sale. Gothicfest is at Excalibur, 632 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Tickets are $32.50 per day or $55 for a weekend pass for this 21-and-older event. Call (312) 559-1212 or visit www.gothicfest.com.
3 p.m. to 2 a.m. today; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday
Ghostly 'Giselle'
The Joffrey Ballet made its name presenting contemporary American works, which explains why the company is finally getting around to staging the full-length classical chestnut "Giselle," ballet's most famous ghost story. Choreographer Frederic Franklin is picking and choosing the best bits from historical renditions of "Giselle" for the Joffrey Ballet's own version. See "Giselle" at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. Tickets are $25-$140. (312) 902-1500 or www.joffrey.com. (312) 902-1500.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday; continues through Oct. 28
Kid flicks
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival enters its 24th year with 220 films from 41 countries, all created for kids. Screenings are all over the city at multiple venues ranging from the Howard Washington Cultural Center on the South Side to Facets Multimedia. The opening night and reception at Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, features special guest and Chicago star Maestro Harrell ("Barbershop," "Ali," "The Wire") and the U.S. premiere of Disney's Goofy cartoon "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater." Opening night tickets are $60; $25 for kids. Regular screenings are $8; $6 for kids. Call (773) 281-9075 or visit www.cicff.org for a full schedule.
Opens at 6 p.m. Thursday; continues through Oct. 28
TV on stage
Your kids have seen characters like Little Einsteins, Winnie the Pooh and Handy Manny on the boob tube, now see them live on stage when the Disney Channel's "Playhouse Disney Live!" goes on tour. Tickets are $15-$33.50 with a limited $45 number of V.I.P. seats. (847) 671-5100 or www.playhousedisneylive.com.
10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. today; through Oct. 14.
Seldom-seen Sullivan
"Princess Ida" might not be as well-known as W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's other operettas like "The Mikado" or "H.M.S. Pinafore," but it's still plenty of fun. The Savoyaires Theater Company dusts off this 1884 comedy of a betrothed princess who shuns her intended fiancee and instead establishes a controversial women's college. The silliness unfolds at Chute Middle School Auditorium, 1400 Oakton St., Evanston. Tickets are $10-$20; $5-$15 for kids. (847) 251-8767.
7:30 p.m. tonight; continues through Oct. 21
Balancing Aces
Pilobolus is famous for its gorgeous modern dancers contorting their bodies amid all sorts of wowing weight-bearing dance moves. (Remember the 2007 Academy Awards with their movie poster silhouettes?) See the famed American modern dance troupe live at the College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. Tickets are $44; $42 for seniors; $34 for children. Call (630) 942-4000.
8 p.m. Saturday
Get a Clue!
Fans of Sudoku and other fact-finding games are in for a treat with the "2007 Puzzlethon," held at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., Mount Prospect. Competitions testing and tickling the brain's little gray cells run throughout. Sign up individually for $10 or $30 for a team of four. Proceeds go to benefit the library and the Mount Prospect Historical Society. Call (847) 253-5675 or visit www.mppl.org.
2 p.m. Sunday