Best bets: Shen Yun dances into the Civic Opera House
Chinese spectacle
Centuries of Chinese culture and tradition get distilled in a lavish dance- and costume-filled spectacle when the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts returns with its latest large-scale production to the Civic Opera House, 50 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. $80-$200. (800) 515-3468 or shenyunperformingarts.org. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday from April 15-24
Blooms & bric-a-brac
More than 100 vendors will be on hand with garden furnishing, plants and art objects for The Antiques and Garden Fair this weekend at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, Glencoe. $12-$15; parent-accompanied kids younger than 12 admitted free. $20 parking per car. (847) 845-5440 or chicagobotanic.org. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Saturday, April 15-17
Pulp fun & fiction
Comic books and dime-store novels have their day at the 11th Annual Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention this weekend at the Westin Lombard, 70 Yorktown Center, Lombard. Celebrate these sometimes lurid works with the $30 three-day admission, $25 individual admission on Friday or Saturday or $15 on Sunday. (888) 627-9031 or windycitypulpandpaper.com. Noon to midnight Friday, April 15; 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday, April 16; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 17
Everybody dance
See some amazing family-friendly hip-hop dancing, or even try to do some moves yourself when the Chicago-based percussive dance troupe Be the Groove pounds it out on Saturday at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $22; $16 kids ages 12 and younger. (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com. 1 p.m. Saturday, April 16
Start your engines
Find the answers to word puzzles to win prizes while driving through the suburbs for clues in the “Wheels of Fortune” Road Rallye on Saturday evening starting at the Woodfield Shopping Center Parking Lot west of the Firestone Tire Center, 1 W. Wise Road, Schaumburg. $10 per vehicle. (847) 446-2904 or wheelsrallyeteam.com. 6 p.m. registration Saturday, April 16
Choral confection
Hear uplifting standards and a new work by Chicago composer Nathaniel Adams when the St. Charles Singers perform the concert “Sweet Harmony” this weekend at two locations: Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles, and at St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton. $30; $20 seniors; $10 students. (630) 513-5272 or stcharlessingers.com. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in St. Charles; 3 p.m. Sunday, April 17, in Wheaton
Tex-Mex Rodeo
Compare and contrast how American rodeos differ from Mexican ones at the “Battle of the Bulls: Rodeo American vs. Rodeo Mexicana” this Saturday at the Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. $32; $12 kids 12 and younger. (888) 732-7784 or searscentre.com. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16
Americana sounds
The bluegrass sounds of Appalachia meet with the steamy jazz of New Orleans in the concert “American Legacies: The Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band” Saturday at North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville. $45-$60. (630) 637-7469 or northcentralcollege.edu/showtix. 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16