A Chicago Fear Experiment.
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) http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sayahillman/fear-experiment-strangers-facing-fears-in-front-of
Story http://2ndstory.serendipitytheatre.org Get Mortified http://www.getmortified.com/ Dollar Store http://www.dollarstoreshow.com/index.html Write Club https://www.facebook.com/#!/WRITECLUBRules 2nd Fridays http://www.chicagoartsdistrict.org Salonathon https://www.facebook.com/Salonathon Essay Fiesta http://essayfiesta.com/ Reading Under the Influence http://readingundertheinfluence.com/ Paper Machete http://thepapermacheteshow.com/ Tuesday Funk http://www.tuesdayfunk.org/ Drinking and Writing Theater http://drinkingandwriting.com/ Interview Show Funny Ha Ha http://www.zulkey.com/funnyhaha.php Story Lab http://storylabchicago.com/ Ignite http://www.ignitechi.org/ Pecha Kucha http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/Chicago P. Fanatics http://www.pissfanatics.net/ This Much is True http://www.thismuchistruechicago.com/ The Moth http://themoth.org/events The Encyclopedia Show http://www.encyclopediashow.com/EncyclopediaShow/Home.html Here’s The Story http://heresthestory.org/ Story Club http://www.storyclubchicago.com/ Grown Folk Stories http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grown-Folks-Stories/120392737992152#!/pages/Grown-Folks-Stories/120392737992152?sk=wall Windy City Story Slam https://windycitystoryslams.wordpress.com/about/ Real Talk Live http://www.facebook.com/pages/Real-Talk-Live/135852693139029
A Chicago Fear Experiment. was originally published on Rick Blog