classical Rufus Wainwright
The New York–based singer-songwriter’s latest venture is also his boldest: a crack at joining the ranks of Verdi, Berlioz, and Britten by setting the Bard to music. Hear the CSO play his 5 Shakespeare Sonnets, a Ravinia co-commission, then stick around for Wainwright doing what he does best: piano pop that’s pure pomp. Bonus: Find out why Wainwright says all Chicagoans seem drunk come August.
GO: 8/14 at 5. $25­–$50. Ravinia, Lake Cook and Green Bay, Highland Park. ravinia.org

ALSO THIS WEEK: Have you heard? Word on the street is the Chicago Sinfonietta’s new music director, Mei-Ann Chen, rocks it. Catch her official debut leading the orchestra in a free concert 8/14 in Millennium Park.

farrago World’s Fair of Money
It can’t buy happiness, but it can buy admission to this goldmine for numismatists (if you don’t know, you’re not one). In addition to international coins and bills galore, the traveling showcase includes an exhibit organized by the U.S. Treasury Department that features more than $1 billion in historic currency and live demos of a Civil War–era money printing press. Plus, in a stroke of fate that’s either pure genius or downright sinister, the brand new Rivers Casino is less than a mile and a half away. Ka-ching!
GO: 8/16–20 from 9 to 5:30. Free (kids under 13) to $6 per day. Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N River, Rosemont. worldsfairofmoney.com

galleries Built Festival
Take the Guerrilla Truck Show, subtract the U-Hauls, Penskes, and high-end furniture; add shipping containers and work by local artists and printmakers; and voilá: the first ever Built Festival—or at least that’s how we understand it. Experience the moveable eye-feast for yourself when the guys behind Art on Track roll their new endeavor into Bucktown. One other difference worth noting: Unlike Guerrilla, this gig isn’t free.
GO: 8/12 from 5 to 10:30, 8/13 from noon to 10:30. $10. 1767 N Milwaukee. builtforart.com

galleries Slow and Low
Get your mind out of the smoker: We’re talking sweet rides, not barbecue. Chicago Urban Art Society curates this lowrider convention, featuring the jaw-dropping bodywork of some 23 local car clubs. An all-day party sets up shop in the gallery, but the event’s highlight, no doubt, will be the neighborhood cruise from 8 to 9 p.m.
GO: 8/14 from 11 to 9. Free (kids under 6) to $10. Chicago Urban Art Society, 2229 S Halsted. chicagourbanartsociety.org

film The Interrupters
The Siskel hosts the long-awaited Chicago premiere of this documentary, from Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here—and also our very first Off the Grid writer-in-residence), about three former felons turned Chicago antiviolence activists. Fourteen of the 26 scheduled screenings will be followed by discussions with members of the filmmaking team. If a director is willing to sit through seven showings of his film in just over a week, you can rest assured he thinks the subject matter is important. Buy your ticket now.
GO: 8/12–25; see website for showtimes. $4–$11. Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State. siskelfilmcenter.org