let's do fun thingsdrinks · chicago
drinks events in chicago
tastings, mixology classes, and social hours where the host actually introduces you to the room. find a drinks event in chicago this week.
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last call lectures: follow the money, find the cure: the economics of big pharma
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
your meds cost what they cost because someone decided they should. this talk gets into who that someone is. we're breaking down the real economics behind who gets treated in biotech and pharma, how drug pricing decisions actually get made, and why some diseases get cured while others get quietly deprioritized. we'll cover a real case where commercial incentives and patient needs are pulled in opposite directions, and close with what it would actually take to realign the two. leading the talk is dr. manead khin. dr. khin holds a phd in pharmaceutical sciences with a focus on analytical chemistry, and cancer biology. she is the founder and host of petri dish perspectives, a biotech and pharma podcast built on turning dense molecular science into stories a general audience actually wants to hear. here is how the night runs: dr. khin opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion, closing with a quick debrief to bring it all back together. stick around after for mingling, this crowd always has more to say.
1 mile radius: lakeview happy hour
The River Kitchen and Bar
2909 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL 60657, USA
do you live in Lakeview? no? you're not invited. we're bringing this series everywhere shortly, but we want you to make friends with people who live nearby for the sitcom winter you deserve. this one's at The River on Sheffield, a big neighborhood bar and grill right in your backyard. also, we're going to be matching you all into groups of people around your age, gender balanced, and who are in similar stages of life as you. we'll have group games and challenges that'll help you all get to know each other and have some fun.
1 mile radius: wicker park happy hour
The Alley Cat
2013 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622, USA
do you live in Wicker Park? no? you're not invited. we're bringing this series everywhere shortly, but we want you to make friends with people who live nearby for the sitcom winter you deserve. this one's at The Alley Cat on Division, a cozy neighborhood bar with cocktails on draft, right in your backyard. also, we're going to be matching you all into groups of people around your age, gender balanced, and who are in similar stages of life as you. we'll have group games and challenges that'll help you all get to know each other and have some fun.
last call lectures: the philosophy of fandoms: what swifties, sherlockians, and sports fans have in common
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
fans are more visible—and influential—in the public sphere than ever before. yet with greater cultural prominence has also come greater misunderstanding. dr. samantha close, associate professor of media and popular culture at depaul university, surveys three very different kinds of fandom before focusing in on what they all have in common: a balance between loving something as it is and seeking to transform it into what you want it to be. we will explore fundamental questions about what fans want from their fandom and how different kinds of industry can—and should—relate to them. dr. close is an expert on digital media and popular culture, with a focus on fandom. you can check out her work at newsweek, vice media, and academic outlets like the international journal of communication, transformative works and cultures, and [in]transition. she is currently working on a book about naruto fandom. here is how the night runs: dr. close opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion, closing with a 15 minute debrief to bring it all back together. stick around after for mingling, this crowd always has more to say.
arguing with strangers
Mary Jo McGuire's
2251 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
arguing with strangers, thursday, october 15 at mary jo mcguire's in lincoln park. arguing with strangers is half debate club, half open mic, and 100% real talk. we start things easy. get paired with a stranger, get handed a side, and argue something ridiculous. like is a hot dog a sandwich? defend it with everything you've got and practice disagreeing with a laugh. then the best matchups go up front. the crowd picks a winner on who's more fun to watch, not who's right. send us your hot takes and get the chance to defend them up front and spark debates for the whole crowd. once everyone's loose, the topics get real and you argue what you actually believe. the stuff you don't usually say out loud to a stranger. what you'd never compromise on. maybe what you've even changed your mind about. things may get serious, but they stay civil. and at the end of the night, you walk away knowing you can completely disagree with someone and still walk out respecting a new friend. we forgot how to do that. this is practice.
last call lectures: storytelling is community building: how spoken art brought chicago together
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
before chicago had podcasts or open mics, it had settlement houses. immigrant families packed into rooms taught each other how to speak, perform, and be heard in a new country. in this lecture, dr. fiona maxwell will be diving into the art of storytelling and its history based in chicago's late 1800s immigrant populations and beyond. dr. maxwell is a historian at north central college who studies how chicagoans used drama, oratory, and storytelling to build civic life in the early 1900s. her research digs into the settlement houses that immigrant and working class families relied on, places like hull house, where spoken performance became a tool for organizing, belonging, and making others laugh. how the night runs: 45 minutes of dr. maxwell walking us through the immigrant roots of storytelling in the city, 15 minutes of q&a, then 45 minutes of small group discussion with other people just as curious as you are.
sing alongs and sake bombs: karaoke night
Izakaya Tokyo
3335 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657, USA
karaoke night in tokyo! free to join. sing or just watch, both are a good night. the spot izakaya tokyo on halsted, a late night japanese bar with skewers off the grill, udon, and fried rice. come hungry, the wagyu skewers are worth it. $5 sake bombs from 7 to 8, so get there early. how it works rsvp is free, you pay for your own food and drinks. find our host when you get there and we'll get you into the room, into a song, and talking to people you came in not knowing. good to know 21+ 3335 n halsted st everyone sounds better after a sake bomb, and the crowd is on your side
last call lectures: the language of optimism w/ case kenny
Epiphany Center for the Arts
201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
last call lectures goes big: a live writing workshop with case kenny, chicago writer, author, and chief optimist at optimism.com, home for one afternoon at epiphany. the idea you talk to yourself all day, and most of the time you don't notice what you're saying. that voice shapes what you expect, what you do, and what you think is possible. optimism is something you can practice, and it starts with the words you use every day. how it runs you get a red pen and blank paper at the door. case teaches, pauses for you to write, and invites you to share and reflect with the people around you. then a 30 minute q&a, then a reception. doors 2:00 workshop 2:30 q&a 3:30 reception 4:00 to 5:00 included every ticket includes a pre-order of case's new book, the language of optimism. good to know 21+ with a valid ID epiphany hall, 201 s ashland ave brought to you by chicago kasam x milna x let's do fun things.
last call lectures: from bloodsucker to heartthrob: how the vampire got hot
The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen
1419 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610, USA
vampires weren’t always sexy. from ancient blood-drinking monsters and plague-era corpses to dracula, bela lugosi, anne rice, buffy, and twilight, this lecture follows 2,000 years of humanity’s favorite undead menace and asks how a horrifying creature of disease and death somehow became robert pattinson with glowing skin. historian dr. john j murphy leads us through a history of folklore, fear, sex, death, and pop culture, told through the constantly changing monster we call the vampire. here's how the night runs: dr. murphy opens with a 45 minute lecture, followed by 15 minutes of live q&a. then we break into small groups for 45 minutes of guided discussion. stick around after for mingling, this crowd always has more to say.
1 mile radius: pilsen
Pilsen
Pilsen, Chicago, IL, USA
do you live in pilsen? no? you're not invited. 1 mile radius is all about making friends with people who live nearby for the sitcom life you deserve. get matched into groups of people you click with around your age, gender balanced, and who are in similar stages of life as you. we're getting dinner, drinks, and getting to know our neighbors. location dropped via email day-of. see you there, pilsen.
1 mile radius: uptown
Uptown
Uptown, Chicago, IL, USA
do you live in uptown? no? you're not invited. 1 mile radius is all about making friends with people who live nearby for the sitcom life you deserve. get matched into groups of people you click with around your age, gender balanced, and who are in similar stages of life as you. we're getting dinner, drinks, and getting to know our neighbors. location dropped via email day-of. see you there, uptown. ticket includes event entry. does not include food or drink items.
common questions
- are these just bar nights?
- no. every event on this list has a host, an arc, or a structure that makes it easy to actually meet the room — not just stand at a bar.
- is there a non-alcoholic option?
- most events offer na options. check the event description for specifics.