Beethoven, the Bulls and a Bright Chicago Sunday

Your daily guide to what's popping in Chicago

By Raj Singh · Published November 8, 2026.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8

Beethoven 5 & Mao Fujita @ Symphony Center

The Chicago Symphony's weekend run of Beethoven's Fifth reaches its Sunday matinee this afternoon. You know the piece before it starts — that four-note motif is the most famous opening in classical music — but the real draw on the program is its partner. Richard Strauss wrote his Burlesque at just 21, a showpiece of pianistic fireworks and mischief, and it's become a calling card for rising pianist Mao Fujita, who Bachtrack says plays it "with the maturity of someone twice his age."

Curtain is at 3 p.m. at Orchestra Hall inside Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. The program also played Friday and Saturday, so the Sunday matinee rounds out the weekend — check the Symphony Center box office for seats.

for colored girls who considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf @ eta Creative Arts Foundation

eta Creative Arts Foundation has brought back Ntozake Shange's revolutionary choreopoem — marking its 50th anniversary — for a limited return engagement on the foundation's Main Stage. The production earned six Black Theater Alliance Award nominations and, in the company's words, is "a celebration of Black women's voices," directed by Donn Carl Harper.

Today's performance starts at 2 p.m. at eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S South Chicago Ave on the South Side; tickets run $30 to $50. The run continues on Sundays through November 29, but the company is billing it as limited dates, so this is one to book rather than put off.

Junk Journaling with The Wasteshed @ Logan Square Library

If the clear afternoon has you wanting something low-key and hands-on, the Logan Square branch is hosting a junk journaling session with The Wasteshed, the city's creative-reuse nonprofit. You'll learn two techniques for assembling journals out of found and upcycled materials, with basic supplies provided — and you're welcome to bring your own junk mail, ticket stubs, photographs and stickers to make them yours. It runs at 1:30 p.m. at the Logan Square branch, 3030 W. Fullerton Ave.

Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers @ United Center

The Bulls host the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center this afternoon — a straightforward call for a bright Sunday, and the early tip-off slots it neatly before dinner. The game is at 2:30 p.m. at the United Center, 1901 W Madison St — grab tickets through the Bulls if you're going.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9

Monday Night Solo Series @ Berger Park

Monday nights don't have to be a write-off. The Park District's Monday Night Solo Series returns to Berger Park with two short solo performances from local creatives, comics and performers — on this bill, "Lifelong Learner" by Elaine Golden and "Mercy Makes Up Her Mind" by Caitlin Marz, with a short intermission in between. It's at 7 p.m. Monday at Berger Park, 6205 N. Sheridan Rd., and admission is $5. It's billed for adults.

THIS WEEK

MCA Free Museum Day for Illinois Residents @ Museum of Contemporary Art

The Museum of Contemporary Art is free for Illinois residents every Tuesday, and this week it lands on November 10 — a low-cost way to spend an overcast afternoon with Chicago's contemporary-art collection. If you make a day of it, the museum's own Marisol restaurant and bar is on site.

Admission is free for Illinois residents; the MCA runs 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and is closed Mondays, so it's your early-week window. It's at 220 E Chicago Ave in Streeterville.

ON THE HORIZON

Empty Bowls @ Douglass Park

Here's the one to put on the calendar: Empty Bowls returns to Douglass Park on Friday, November 13. Gnarware and The Douglass Creative Space team up for a ceramic bowl sale and soup party where you eat a bowl of soup made by local chefs and leave with a handmade bowl from a local artist. It's free and family-friendly, and every dollar raised goes toward fighting food insecurity in Pilsen and Lawndale.

It runs 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Dr. Admission is free, all ages — a warm, useful way to kick off the giving season a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving.