Buy a piece of history when the Empty Bottle auctions off coasters made from its old floor and bathroom walls, starting Thursday.
It’s officially fall—well, as of Friday. We’re too old for back to school (thank heavens), but this week still feels like a good time to apply ourselves to being the most overachieving scenesters we can be. Below, five things to do for every type of learner:
Experiential Learners: If learning by “concrete experience and active experimentation” is your thing, head to Delilah’s comprehensive tasting of Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. The event showcases every version of the aforementioned fall-themed guzzlers available in Chicago, from Oktoberfest brews by Hacker-Pschorr, Summit, and others, to pumpkin-flavored beers from O’Fallon, Dogfish Head, Southern Tier, and on and on. No cover; pay by the beer.
Spatial Learners: Or use your spatial-reasoning skills to map the best ball-toss angles at Flat Rock Tavern’s (2476 N. Lincoln Ave.) free skeeball party tonight from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. Sponsored by PBR, the event includes half-price appetizers, drink specials, and lots of people engrossed in that game you used to win so many junk prizes playing at Chuck E. Cheese birthday parties as a kid. Find out if you’re still a sure shot, then consider joining the Chicago Skeeball League. Hey, it could help stave off wintertime cornhole cravings.
Tactile Learners: Starting Thursday, the storied live-music venue the Empty Bottle holds its promised auction of limited-edition, hand-numbered coaster sets made from bits and pieces of the bar’s recently gutted original interior—parts of floorboards and graffitied bathroom surfaces that have been “hacked up and lacquered the heck out of.” The coasters are clean (even though the invite actually mentions the word “pee,” as in, “Pee It Forward”), and sales benefit the American Liver Foundation. The auction is online through October 22, but the free party is tomorrow, with live music by Landfill Specter and DJ sets from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Auditory Learners: Listen to the judge offer pronunciations, then ponder carefully before you open your mouth at Spell Yeah, a free spelling bee for 21-and-up whiz kids at the Oak Park Library, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (check-in starts at 8; interested parties can register for the bee, sponsored by the book club Genre X, in advance online). Why 21 and up? Spectators score one complimentary drink each; spellers get two. Sounds like my kind of contest.
Visual Learners: The new Streeterville restau-bar in the old De La Costa space, Quay, hosts a viewing party for the big Chicago/Green Bay game on Sunday. The former Bears and Packers player Jim McMahon—blinged out with both of his championship rings—will be on hand for autographs and photos before, during, and after the game. A raffle of 12 McMahon jerseys will benefit the Dave Duerson Foundation, which assists athletes with mental illness. No cover; brunch service runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; a bus shuttle to Solider Field leaves at 2; kickoff is at 3:15.