For your consideration, Chicago, alternatives to Lollapalooza: downtown Wakanda, pet parade, “The Office” pop-up bar, White Sox podcast live taping and a karaoke cruise.
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Wakan this way
Wakanda comes to Chicago this weekend, as Wakandacon will take over the Hilton Downtown (720 S. Michigan Ave.) all weekend, with events beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday. The brand-new festival is something like a catch-all for creativity, technology and culture, with an emphasis on black-owned or operated endeavors. The lineup is full of names you’re sure to recognize in the fields of “pop culture, gaming, tech, womanhood (and) politics,” according to its website. Tickets: $35 for three-day pass. wakandacon2018.com
Many pets, walking together
Pets on parade! You can watch a bunch of fluffy friends prance through the Edgewater Pet Parade, the neighborhood’s second-annual procession, or you can walk your own. The event steps off at 11 a.m. Saturdayon the south side of the Ardmore and Broadway intersection. There will also be four categories for pets to win prizes: best costume, best trick, smallest or biggest pet, and owner and pet look-alike contest. Tickets: $10 required donation to walk.
Ain’t no party like an ‘Office’ party
Replay Lincoln Park (2833 N. Sheffield Ave.) has become Chicago’s unofficial pop-up bar leader, and its latest event honors the American version of “The Office,” complete with themed cocktails, decor and events. The pop-up will run through Aug. 20, with special celebrations throughout, like the Flonkerton Office Olympics at 7 p.m. Friday. Button up some office attire, and don’t play too many pranks on Dwight.
‘I’m (singing) on a boat’
Missing the music at Lolla? Make your own this weekend with Boataoke, a new river cruise that is exactly what the portmanteau suggests: karaoke on a boat. The event debuted this summer on the Summer of George, which docks at 900 S. Wells St. This weekend’s edition of the event kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Friday and benefits no-kill animal shelter Wright-Way Rescue. The three-hour ride includes a full service bar and a dance floor, but not food, so be sure to eat first! Tickets: $30. boataoke.com
Let’s talk about Sox, baby
The White Sox are not a good baseball team this season, but they are in the middle of a rebuild, which means there’s still plenty to talk and speculate about. NBC Sports’ Chuck Garfien will do just that from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Reggie’s (2109 S. State St.), doing a live taping of his White Sox podcast with special guest Rick Hahn, the White Sox general manager. The first hour of the event features a free appetizer buffet, the podcast begins at 7 p.m. and karaoke keeps the party going after the podcast.
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