Actual Fun

A reminder to dog owners: The Bow-Vows registration forms are out and the big day is now only a little more than two weeks away. Download a form here and register pronto to be part of Oak Park‘s try to break the Guinness record for a mass dog wedding. The whole I Do to-do is a fundraiser for Animal Care League. The entry fee is $5 a dog. If your best friend is not yet betrothed, it’s another $5 to sign him or her up for speed dating. The big day is Saturday, Nov. 8, in downtown Oak Park.

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23

Poetry, humor and drama at the library

Playwright Lisa Rosenthal moderates the Oak Park Writers’ Group during a series of readings called Below the Radar. Rosenthal, also a writing coach and former leader of the group, will be with writers Keith Anwar, Mary Bonine, Jim Chmura, Mary Ann Eiler, Dan Giloth, Dan Montville, Janis Clark Johnston and Karolis Zukauskas. The group has been meeting at the Oak Park Public Library since 2003. At the main branch, 834 Lake.

8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23:

Folk and country concert

Possum Hollow Boys, Scott Ligon and Casey McDonough at FitzGerald’s Nightclub. $5. At 6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn 788-2118. www.fitzgeraldsnightclub.com

8 to 10:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23
Barn dancing
Contra, circle and square dances at the Nineteenth Century Club. No worries about a costume or a partner-just energy and an open mind. 178 Forest, Oak Park. 386-2729. $8, free parking 

7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24

South American music concert

Revel in the music of South America during a guitar and flute concert at Cheney Mansion by artists Michael Nigro and Lisa Schroeder. The duo, who try to reach a nonclassical audience, will measure their performance with commentary and anecdotes about the composers and pieces they chose. Learn more about the duo at www.noteworthyduo.com. Tickets are $12; $15 at the door. For reservations, call 383-2612. The mansion is at 220 N. Euclid Ave. in Oak Park. www.cheneymansion.com

7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24

Fireside Halloween at the library

The River Forest Public Library is hosting a family-friendly Halloween get-together. For details, call Sue Quinn, head of children’s services, at 366-5205, ext. 4. At

8 p.m. to midnight, Friday, Oct. 24
Live jazz

Steelin Jazz on double tenor pans, piano, bass and drums at Philander’s restaurant. Carleton of Oak Park Hotel, 1110 Pleasant St., 848-5000

10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 25

Halloween parade on The Avenue

The merchants of Oak Park Avenue host trick-or-treaters during the annual parade for kids. At 10 a.m., line up at Pleasant Street and Oak Park Ave. Once the marching is done, there will be activities aplenty: cookie decorating at K9 Cookie Company, a coloring station at Fly Bird, Creepy Critters & Ghastly Gardens at Botanica, and storytime and crafts at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at The Magic Tree Bookstore. While they last, find fresh-baked treats at Great Harvest. For details, call Botanica at 386-6800 or Fly Bird at 383-3330.

2 to 4 p.m. Saturday

Boo in the Park

Kids and their family members can hunt for Halloween eggs and play pumpkin shot-put at Forest Park‘s park district headquarters. The critters in the spook house will be furry, but the monsters will be friendly. There also will be a bounce house, creepy storytelling and a costume contest. $7. Call 574-8179 for other ghoulish details. At

4 to 7 p.m. Saturday

Halloween drag show

New Spirit Community Church is hosting a Halloween gathering for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, their kids, their families and their friends. Organizers say you can sport a mask, wear a costume or just walk in as you are. $15 for adults, free for children. In the auditorium at

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25

A one-woman Dracula

Village Players is bringing in a performer known as the Kate Hepburn of storytellers to deliver an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Megan Wells will be in the blackbox theater at the Village Players Performing Arts Center, 1010 W. Madison St. in Oak Park. $20 at www.village-players.org or 866-764-1010. Another performance at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25

Stone soup on last day of farmers’ market

The season closes Saturday for the Oak Park Farmers’ Market and, as always on the last day, you’ll get the locavore and vegetarian delight of stone soup. This year’s soup chef is Craig Charlton of Trattoria 225.  Soup’s on at 9 a.m. The market opens at 7 a.m. In the parking lot of Pilgrim Congregational Church, on

7 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25

Oak Park Art League’s Masked Bash

It’s Halloween for grown-ups as a costumed crowd gets a haunted gallery to dine and imbibe in. Yes, there will be bobbing for apples, too. Prizes will be awarded for the best and most creative mask. $10 for members, $15 for others. At 720 Chicago Ave., Oak Park. 386-9853, www.opal-art.com.

8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26

The Frank Lloyd Wright Races

5K, 10K and youth mile walks and runs all start and finish at Oak Park and River Forest High School by way of the Wright historic district. The 5K walk-run starts at 8 a.m.; the 10K run at 8:45 a.m.; the youth mile at 9 a.m. Fees range from $12 to $20 in advance and from $15 to $25 on Sunday. Register online at www.oakparkparks.com/flw2008.htm. The first 2,000 people to register will get a free pancake and sausage breakfast in the school’s South Cafeteria.

3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26

Hemingway Foundation wine auction

Nibble on hors d’oeuvres at Pleasant Home while you taste wines and bid on them. Proceeds from the three-hour afternoon event benefit the foundation’s educational and cultural programming. For details, call 848-2222 or e-mail ehfop@sbcglobal.net. At 217 Home Ave. in Oak Park.

3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26:

Godspell at OPRF High School Small Theatre

Catch the unforgettable music of Stephen Schwartz in Oak Park and River Forest High School‘s production of Godspell, the 1970 musical. Also showing at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30; at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, and Saturday, Nov. 1. Box office: 434-3090. In the Small Theatre. 201 N. Scoville, Oak Park. 383-0700. www.oprfhs.org.