Monday, May 17: MARRIAGE IN MASSACHUSETTS! See our coverage at WindyCityTimes.com.
The annual Queer is Folk Festival is Sat., may 22, with Melissa Ferrick and Ernie Lijoi headlining. GLBT folk performers from around the country, including Wishing Chair, Coat, Andrea Bunch, and Blackberri, one of the first openly gay African American folk artists. Hosted by Scott Free. The festival is a celebration of the LGBT experience through folk music, and the goal is to help foster the idea of inclusiveness that has always been an important part of the folk tradition. Old Town School of Folk, 4544 N. Lincoln, (773) 728-6000.
Join us for Windy City Gay Idol Tuesday, May 25 at Jackhammer—an amateur contest where the audience vote counts. Cash prizes to winners every night. Grand prize includes $1,000 cash, two American Airlines tickets, Bud Light Mountain Bike, & more. $5 cover, $10 contestant entry fee, sign up at 6 p.m., event starts at 7 p.m., 6406 N. Clark. For information, rules, and regulations, visit WindyCityTimes.com.
Chicago Historical Society’s OUT at CHS: Exploring the LGBT Past is May 27. The next topic up is ‘From Drag Ball to Vogue Ball.’ George Chauncey, a University of Chicago historian, and Jonathan David Jackson, a dance scholar at Goucher College, paint a vivid portrait of both the Black-organized drag balls held from the 1920s to the 1970s and the Black and Latino/a community that by the 1970s called itself the ballroom scene. North Avenue and Clark Streets; (312) 662-4600 or visit www.chicagohistory.org
Leather weekend is coming. See www.imrl.com for details.