Late last year, I participated in Potluck 2.0 and quickly realized that I was unaware of an incredible underground Chicago scene. Potluck is a speaker series (see: Ignite) where people from very diverse backgrounds speak undisturbed for 6 minutes. After presenting about taking the leap into entrepreneurship, I listened to a group of amazing and eclectic poets, actors, writers, and comedians tell creative and unfiltered stories. I was blown away. And they referred to a Chicago scene that I had honestly had never heard of: live magazines, books & beer, design based speaker series, and much more.
When friends in other cities ask me about Chicago, I evangelize the beach, our college football Saturdays, how nice people are, and of course, our summers – none of which is novel. When asked about trying new things like Yoga or Farmers Markets, I say that I can’t touch my toes and can barely cook but that I experiment with Chicago by regularly attending start-up events and trying new restaurants. Being with such diverse group of people at Potluck made me realize that I had never left my comfort zone. Even when I worked in finance previously, I would volunteer on junior boards composed of other young finance professionals. My exploring of Chicago was tied to my profession and my palette.
My Fellow Potluckers.
So I want to continue expanding my status quo. Saya, the co-host of Potluck, shared a list of events and activities that are underground to me. My experiment is to attend one new event each month. The list is below. Who’s with me?
Fear Experiment (another of Saya’s ventures that helps strangers face their fears of dancing comedy very very publicly) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sayahillman/fear-experiment-strangers-facing-fears-in-front-of
Story https://2ndstory.serendipitytheatre.org
Get Mortified https://www.getmortified.com/
Dollar Store https://www.dollarstoreshow.com/index.html
Write Club https://www.facebook.com/#!/WRITECLUBRules
2nd Fridays https://www.chicagoartsdistrict.org
Salonathon https://www.facebook.com/Salonathon
Essay Fiesta https://essayfiesta.com/
Reading Under the Influence https://readingundertheinfluence.com/
Paper Machete https://thepapermacheteshow.com/
Tuesday Funk https://www.tuesdayfunk.org/
Drinking and Writing Theater https://drinkingandwriting.com/
Funny Ha Ha https://www.zulkey.com/funnyhaha.php
Story Lab https://storylabchicago.com/
Ignite https://www.ignitechi.org/
Pecha Kucha https://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/Chicago
P. Fanatics https://www.pissfanatics.net/
This Much is True https://www.thismuchistruechicago.com/
The Moth https://themoth.org/events
The Encyclopedia Show https://www.encyclopediashow.com/EncyclopediaShow/Home.html
Here’s The Story https://heresthestory.org/
Story Club https://www.storyclubchicago.com/
Grown Folk Stories https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grown-Folks-Stories/120392737992152#!/pages/Grown-Folks-Stories/120392737992152?sk=wall
Windy City Story Slam https://windycitystoryslams.wordpress.com/about/
