Choose Your Own Adventure
Be the master of your entertainment destiny this week and pick from one of two routes to amusement: For the kids at heart, we’ve rounded up a roster of Halloween treats sure to put some “Gotcha!” in your game plan; read on for the spine-tingling rundown. Party poopers who’d rather turn off the metaphorical porch light to trick-or-treaters can find plenty of ghoul-free options below the fold (not that we’re judging).

Hallo-wheeeeeeen!
• Perhaps Ichabod Crane would have fared better on a Schwinn than a noble steed. Relive the spirit of Sleepy Hollow—without those inconvenient beheadings—at the Headless Horseman Hunt, a costume party meets bike race meets scavenger hunt. Partnering up for the gallivant is recommended; prizes will be handed out to the best costumed and the winners of the hunt. Registration begins 2 p.m. Saturday the 27th in Union Park (1501 W. Randolph St.), and the race kicks off at 3 p.m. The $5 entry fee benefits Cornerstone Community Outreach.

• Or skip the pedal-pushing and pump up your brain with a highbrow holiday. Members of the theatre company Greasy Joan & Co. read scary tales by Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allen Poe in a production directed by Cecilie Keenan (The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow). The evening begins at 7 p.m. Friday the 26th at textartspace (1008 W. Randolph St.). Tickets are $20; RSVP to 312-458-0718 or info@greasyjoan.org.

• If you haven’t yet seen the world-premiere (and bizarro) stage adaptation of H.G. Well’s The Island of Dr. Moreau at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood Ave.; 773-761-4477), this is your week. Stick around following the 7:30 p.m. performance Friday the 26th for an afterparty with eats and drinks, an appearance by the show’s “Moreau beasts,” and live music by The Hormones, a Ramones tribute band. Tickets to the play are $25; $15 for the bash.

• Here’s one from the pint-sized department that makes regular trick-or-treating look awfully ho-hum: Little urchins and their minders are invited to bunk in the Shedd galleries—amid things that go glub in the night—at the aquarium’s annual Spooky Seas sleepover (1200 S. Lake Shore Dr.; 312-692-2702), beginning 6 p.m. Friday the 26th. Costumes are encouraged; activities are designed for kids ages 5 to 10, but all are welcome. There’s also an evening-only portion (6 to 10 p.m. Friday; $25) for folks who aren’t crazy about, well, sleeping with the fishes. Pre-registration is required; $55 per adult or child.

Bah, Humbug
• OK, turns out there’s plenty to do this week besides dressing up and eating chocolate—like saving the world. The Chicago Humanities Festival kicks off Saturday the 27th with nearly encyclopedic, citywide coverage of this year’s green theme, The Climate of Concern. One of our top picks: Visions of Concern at the David Weinberg Collection (300 W. Superior St., Ste. 203; 312-529-5090), where the works on exhibit include FedEx boxes and milk cartons painstakingly recycled as topographic maps by the history-making Maya Lin. The show opens Friday the 26th from 5 to 8 p.m. and runs through December 29th.

• So what if the White Stripes canceled their U.S. fall tour, including two Chicago dates at the Aragon earlier this month? We’ve found an actual brother-sister act with local ties who knows how to rock the house—er, Logan Square Auditorium (2539 N. Kedzie Ave.). The Oak Park–reared Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, a.k.a. Fiery Furnaces, return to town with their rough-and-tumble indie rock at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday the 31st; local art-rock trio Pit Er Pat opens. Tickets are $15; call 866-468-3401.

• The German jazz hound Peter Brötzmann knows his way around more than a sax; he’s also a virtuoso on canvas. See his paintings in the first major U.S. exhibition of his work at Corbett vs. Dempsey (1120 N. Ashland Ave., third floor; 773-278-1664). The opening reception runs 5 to 9 p.m. Friday the 26th; the show continues through November 30th.

• Also, just a reminder that Chicago Artists Month officially ends Wednesday the 31st. Remaining events include the free Albany-Carroll Arts Building Open Studio Event, noon to 7 p.m. Sunday the 28th, featuring works by the pack of studio artists and music by the Kahil El’Zabar Quartet at 5 p.m. (319 N. Albany Ave.). Find a full CAM lineup at chicagoartistsmonth.org.

PLEASE NOTE: Events may be postponed or simply canceled. Please call ahead to make sure they are still scheduled to take place. Send tips or comments to marquee@chicagomag.com.