Best bets: Pinball contest, Elgin wine fest
Pinball wizards
Start humming the score to The Who's "Tommy" and get your flipper-button fingers ready. GameWorks is sponsoring a Memorial Day-weekend pinball tournament at Streets of Woodfield, 601 Martingale Road, Schaumburg. Competition is $4 for one game and $10 for three games. (847) 330-9675 or gameworks.com. 6 p.m. Friday, May 22; noon to midnight Saturday, May 23 and noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24
Tasty aging
More than 150 wine varieties are featured in the inaugural Elgin Wine Festival at Festival Park, 132 S. Grove Ave., Elgin. $20-$30 (includes souvenir wine glass, 10 tastings, a festival program and entertainment). (847) 382-1480 or elginwinefestival.com. 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 23
Remembrance and rest
There are lots of Memorial Day weekend events to choose from. Kline Creek Farm honors early Americans who died in military service with a Decoration Day remembrance at 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 25, at 1N600 County Farm Road in Winfield. Or you can have fun at Arlington Park's Party in the Park starting at 2:30 p.m., Friday, May 22, at 2200 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights. Turn to page 4 of Time Out! for more Memorial Day events.
Sparkle! Shine!
Get ready to gawk at all kinds of gems when the International Gem & Jewelry Show returns to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. $8 daily admission. (847) 692-2220 or rosemont.com. noon to 6 p.m. Friday, May 22; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 23; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 24
Northwestern jazz
Victor Goines conducts a concert honoring the 100th anniversary of jazz artist Benny Goodman at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, $5-$7. Goines then is a featured soloist in the concert "Percussion and Jazz Alive" at the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, at Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, Chicago. Free. (847) 467-4000, pickstaiger.org, or millenniumpark.org. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 22, in Evanston; 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 24, in Chicago
Like-life
Milwaukee-based sculptor Marc Sijan could try to emulate classical Greek sculptures, but his inspiration comes from real life. See Sijan's people made out of polyester-resin in the exhibit "Ultra-Realistic Sculpture, by Marc Sijan" at the Elmhurst Art Museum, 150 Cottage Hill Ave., Elmhurst. $4; $2-$3 kids/students. (630) 834-0202 or elmhurstartmuseum.org. Starting 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 23; continues through Sunday, July 19.
Price of freedom
East Meets West Music's "Ode to Freedom" is both a concert and a speakers forum looking back 20 years ago to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Find out more at Wentz Concert Hall, North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. Free, but donations appreciated. (630) 677-3650. 7:45 p.m. Sunday, May 31
Ideological clash
Expect Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff under the second Bush administration, to locks horns with political strategist James Carville for "Speaker Series: Minds That Move the World," a debate moderated by PBS-TV host Charlie Rose. Cheer your side of America's political divide at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. $35-$185. (312) 263-1138 or thechicagotheatre.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28
Overgrown kid
Michael McDonald may not be seen on "MadTV" anymore, but there's a chance that his famous characters like Stuart Larkin, Rusty Miller and Marvin Tikvah might make an appearance during his set at the Improv Comedy Showcase, 5 Woodfield Road, Schaumburg. $19-$22. (847) 240-2001 or improv.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28; 8 and 10:15 p.m. Friday, May 29; 7 and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, May 30