Friday 8/6 – Thursday 8/12
African-American women are the target audience for the multimedia show All Hail the Coochie II: The One Coloredgirl Coochie Self-Determination Circus, but health educator and performance poet Sharon L. Powell hopes it’ll speak to people of all colors and genders. It focuses on the history of black women’s bodies and sexuality, including dark chapters such as the story of Sarah Baartman, “the Hottentot Venus,” a South African woman who was put on display in 19th-century Europe as a freak because of her large buttocks and genitalia. Levity comes in the form of a “Sacred Coochie Grand Prize Game,” in which participants throw beanbags representing sexually transmitted “cooties” and microbicides into a big cardboard vagina. The show opens tonight at 8 PM at Acme Art Works, 1741 N. Western, and runs again on Sunday, August 8, at 3 PM, and three additional dates through August 15. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door; call 773-665-4749 or e-mail tickets@allhail2.com.
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Today the Devon Avenue neighborhood will host the 16th annual Pakistan Independence Day Parade, which kicks off at noon from the corner of Devon and Damen. The Taste of Pakistan Festival follows: local restaurants will serve up subcontinental treats like samosas, naan, and lamb kebabs at bargain prices. There’ll also be vendors selling clothes and handicrafts, and music from two bands. It’s from 2:30 to 7:30 PM at Warren Park, 6610 N. Western. It’s free; call Hameed Khan at 773-556-9993.
