Chicago: The Thread About Chicago

Kennedy Center Plans Festival As Olive Branch To Arab Culture
Organizers of 2009 Event See Performing Arts as Means To Foster Understanding

By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 28, 2006; C01

The Kennedy Center said yesterday that it will stage a festival of Arab culture in 2009 to bring many little-known artists onto an international stage and provide a counterpoint to the reality of war and violence that many Americans associate with the region.

Buoyed by the success of the China Festival, during which hundreds of artists played to sold-out audiences last fall, Michael M. Kaiser, the center's president, said he was looking for the next challenge. He said he was searching for a way to drive home the point that arts are a window onto understanding people:

"We don't know enough about what other people are about. We read about government and politics. That doesn't say anything about what they like, what they find beautiful. Also, the idea starts from my rather naive belief that arts create peace."

Kaiser said such a festival could be a good way to start breaking prevalent stereotypes. The League of Arab States is helping introduce the center to various performing groups, but the center will make the selections and have curatorial control, Kaiser said. "The countries want you to be encyclopedic, but the audience doesn't want that," he added.

Ambassador Hussein Hassouna, the Arab League's representative in Washington, said the festival "is very much needed at this time. In our world of today, and we all agree that it is very sad, all we hear is bad news. In the U.S., they only hear about conflict in the region, about violence, about problems, but they don't hear enough about the bright things that are happening."

The programming will be built around performing arts from the 22 countries that belong to the Arab League, from the founders, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen, to Bahrain, Somalia and Djibouti. The United States has been at war in Iraq since March 2003.

The events will probably take place over three to four weeks, and include film, visual arts and literature. "With this festival, we are going to explore the heritage, also. What the countries did in early centuries -- with maps, science and astronomy," said Alicia Adams, the center's vice president for international programs and dance.

Festivals anywhere in the non-Arab world that focus on Arab culture are very rare, Hassouna said. When Arab groups have performed in Washington, he said, it becomes an occasion for the Arab American and diplomatic communities. Last year, the Syrian band Hewar performed on the center's Millennium Stage. In February, the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble -- a group of musicians from the United States, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Israel and France -- performed the work of Egyptian composer Sayyed Daweesh, also on the Millennium Stage.

Last year, for the first time in 39 years, the Smithsonian Institution spotlighted an Arab country, Oman, in the annual Folklife Festival.

"An Arab festival is a huge challenge. Every culture is political, and the representation [raises] issues of politics and religion," said Richard Kennedy, deputy director of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

The plans drew praise from Rochelle Davis, an anthropologist at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. "There's a vibrant production of dance and arts, and culture from high culture to the folkloric song and dance," Davis said. She introduces her students to the music of the Egyptian legend Oum Kalthoum and the Lebanese singer Fayrouz, as well as the contemporary Rai music of Algeria in her classes. "We have so many stereotypes -- seeing people performing dances and songs breaks down our ideas about how they are all evil," she said.

The planning will include a symposium next spring in Cairo to discuss the needs of arts organizations in the Arab world, Kaiser said. "It is very important for the Kennedy Center not to lose touch with the groups that come to the festivals. We are not doing our job if they come here and then go home without an ongoing relationship," he said.

For the China festival, Adams made nine trips in four years and saw performances throughout the country. Her office eventually coordinated the travel of 900 people. Logistics for this event will be more difficult, she predicted, and "war will limit where I travel. But we have not had a festival where we haven't been able to get the artists into the country."

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

I FUCKED UP A THREAD

http://www.ty.com/images/products/4561_lg.gif

I suck.

TURN BACK TO THE ROBE OR HOUSECOAT!!!! ABANDON THREAD!

(I'm serious)

GOOD JOB JESSE YOU RUINED OUR SENIOR YEAR BEST YEAR OF OUR LIVES!!!!

What's our class song? I'm thinking "Holiday" by Green Day.

GET OUT! THIS THREAD COULD COLLAPSE AT ANY TIME! GET BACK TO ROBE/HOUSECOAT!

"This thread has been locked by an administrator"

I'm guilty of threadicide.

My cat's cunt is probably torn from its moorings by now.

I wish mine were.

Chicago: The Thread by the Lake

The Second Thread.

Chi-Thread.

Thread Butcher to the World

HAW!

xp - they unbanned him.

Chicago: Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughan are rumored to have purchased a large house in the suburbs together.

Hmm, looks like ... maybe 4-inches here? They preemptively made school remote, a covid-era, snow-day negating development my kids do not appreciate.

Still coming down, though. Maybe ultimately another couple of inches on top of that?

Ha, my son was super excited to have a remote snow day today, especially since it was already supposed to only be a half day. I probably shoveled about 5-6 inches this morning and it's still coming down.

I think the schools deciding to go remote was more about the timing of the worst parts of the snowfall than it was the anticipated accumulation, at least on the north side.

Just saw an Edible Arrangements van get stuck in the snow. Talk about adding insult to injury. At least they won't starve.

Some preliminary reports that we're at about 8.5" here so far, which wouldn't surprise me given that it is still coming down. That puts us within half an inch or so of 20 total inches since Thursday night. Thank god it warmed up enough yesterday to melt some of it.

Chicago pizza lives up to the hype

Is this tavern style (which seems to be taking over in hip cities) or deep dish?

The latter, ofc. So good.

It is, it is!

I've been about half-time in Portland this past year, and it's funny to go all the way there to find a tavern-style pizza called The Steve Dolinsky.

I am not sure why but I thought it would be doughy but it really isn’t. The sauce is revelatory.

Yeah, it's generally pretty chunky and flavorful. I think that's an underrated aspect of Chicago style, that the crust and sauce are equally important. In a lot of thin crust pizza the sauce is almost an afterthought.

Which place did you get it at?!

Lou’s & Giordanos. I thought Giordanos had the better crust but Lou’s the better sauce. They were both great though.

Interesting, I think Lou's has the better crust and Giordano's the better sauce, lol! But they're both really good standbys that you can find all over, as opposed to places with only a couple of locations, like Pequod's. I find that because Chicago style is so deep and sturdy, it really supports quality toppings, too, because you don't have to worry about them weighing down or falling off a slice you're picking up.

Actually, I take that back, it's been a while since I've had Giordano's. Lou's sauce is pretty chunky, I want to say Giordano's is ... spicier? Maybe I am thinking of Edwardo's. Giordano's crust might be crunchier/more carmalized?

"Lou’s & Giordanos. I thought Giordanos had the better crust but Lou’s the better sauce. They were both great though."

I concur.
This is 1st I've heard about tavern style being trendy. Hope it makes its way to AZ! I can get Lou's and Giordano's in Phoenix but have yet to find Chicago thin crust anywhere. Well apart from home run inn and Connie's frozen pizzas which doesn't really count (thought Connie's is my favorite frozen pizza). Usually get it from a place by my parents' home when I go back for visits, but we keep meaning to make a pilgrimage to Vitos and Nick's so that might happen when I return in May.
The only food place that's a must do whenever I visit is Freddy's in Cicero.

(My sister loves Freddy's pizza but I always stick to other items. I've had bites of it tho and it's good Sicilian style)

I live 10 minutes from Freddy's, it's so good that their pizza isn't even their top draw, though the pizza is great. I'm a huge fan of their Margherita and, when they have it, the calamari pizza. But their pastas and meatballs and sausages and gelato ... man, everything at this place. Sandwiches and arancini and chicken and ...

Fun Freddy's story that shows how awesome they are. They're a cash-only mom and pop place, and sort of in the middle of nowhere. I had a neighbor that had never been, so I made him go. He went there but had no idea it was cash-only, and came up short. They told him don't worry about it, just bring the rest the money tomorrow. Who does that!?!

Aw that's great. My sis is a few minutes away as well, in Oak Park. The owner (Anne Marie I think; co owns it with her husband) is very sweet to her, let her pay by check once, plus gave her the secret phone number lol. Always gotta have their arancini but I usually try different main dishes because yeah everything is good. And the gelato! Best I've ever had.

I'm in town this week til wednesday night. Anyone feel like getting some dinner tonight or tomorrow? I can't eat a whole pizza or whatever else by myself!

Well, pequod’s is killer.

Which pizza place is the one that offers a sausage pizza in which one piece of sausage covers the entire crust? It's a sausage layer.

Do people still live here?
I'm in Chicago until Sunday night

I wonder if FAP is still fappening..

Sorry I missed you DJI

A bunch of us, but most of us are old, tired, or have Covid. But enjoy your stay!

I'm playing at the Green Mill jazz club tonight :)

Cool! Say hello to Kurt Elling if he happens to be there too.

Hey Chicago! Will be in town this coming weekend (Thurs-Sun) with the family, looking for any recommendations beyond the obvious. I've been to the city several times including twice last year, but not with my kids, so thinking especially of things that high school boys would find interesting. We'll do the Field and Art Institute, most likely, probably a river tour, but beyond that (and one day at the Pitchfork fest) we're pretty unplanned. Oldest son is a vinyl hound, so good record stores are welcome. Also any good arcades/barcades? Hipster hangouts? We'll probably hit Quimby's, but any other shops to consider?

Also, feel free to hit us with dining tips in the non-fancy category.

For bar/arcade, we like going to Lucky Strike up by Wrigley. The place is huge, so even on day game days, it’s not too crowded if you go early.

I’m too old to know any hipster hangouts.

Right by Quimby's is Peace Pizza/brewery, which is actually New Haven style, and good. Owned by Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick. Reckless Records is right there, the more exotic Dusty Groove not far.

Cool, I thought that neighborhood would have other good things. We stayed not too far from there last fall. And good to know about Lucky Strike! That's an excuse to take them to at least see the ballpark. (After weighing the cost of game tix vs. everybody else in the family's indifference to baseball, I skipped on see a game.)

It’s worth it for the vibes to walk around the neighborhood on game day. Even when the Cubs are terrible.

Get jibaritos at Jibaritos y Mas
Go to Pilsen and visit the Mexican art museum/walk around/eat food
There are lots of fun food vendors at Pfork too
Have fun!!

Actually, if you want to do something truly special and surprisingly easy, kayak on the river. It's a great way to see the city. My fave route is to start down in Chinatown, make your way up north to the city, take a bunch of cool pictures, then return to Chinatown for lunch or bubble tea.

Emporium is a fun barcade (at Milwaukee/Fullerton location is my favorite, but others are good too), as is Logan Arcade.

Both those are 21+ though.

If you’re near Logan Arcade or the Milwaukee/Fullerton Emporium, check out Record Breakers. A few doors down from that is Bric-a-Brac, which has lots of kitschy toys, some records, cassettes, VHS tapes, and Simpsons arcade machine. Attached to it is a horror-themed coffee shop called The Brewed (a play on the David Cronenberg film).

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abc7chicago.com/amp/victory-auto-wreckers-closing-commercial-bensenville/14019113/

Victory had over seven acres of used parts 😢

Damn, that really is an icon gone. Not a car guy but I always thought it would have been cool to trawl around there for a bit.

So I (an ex-Chicagoan) have a little time to kill in the city next week (not convention-related good god), and kind of want to pick local brains for any EVENTS OF NOTE happening? Normally when I’m back I just revisit the same things I did 20 years ago — could afford to see something new!

Dude, we’re all too old for events now.

This is what literary readings are for!

I just checked out the Bib Gourmand list, some interesting possibilities there. I think I know the owners of one place, La Josie. If true, that blows my mind. (They are past owners of one or more Taquerias las Comales locations and I met them at Chicago Fire games.)

I like events! But I don't know of any off the top of my head.

How long are you going to be around for?

Mostly just Tuesday to Thursday. And I did my usual Wicker Park nostalgia rounds — Rainbo, Bottle, Myopic, etc — last summer! Maybe it’s Uptown this year

No presh or anything, but if you wanna meet up for a drink at somewhere like Larry's, I'm around.

I'll drop you an email as I figure out where I'm staying / what I'm doing!

Ironically enough the one "event" I actually do feel too old for is ... going to the Metro to see Built to Spill play "There's Nothing Wrong with Love."