Lakeside Pride, Inspiration Kitchens Present A Special Evening, With Deep Discounts For UU Readers

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Celebrate the holidays with dinner and music -- and special discounts for Uptown Update readers.

Celebrating the spirit of the season, the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band and shhh…OUT! Lakeside Pride Jazz Ensemble present a special joint “Holidays in Uptown” concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 at Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence, Chicago. This concert will warm your heart with holiday hits – old and new – and tickle your tonsils with a Christmas Sing-Along.

Special guest vocalist Becca Kaufman will join the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band for a performance of “Christmas Eve is Coming Soon,” an original song written for the gay indie holiday film Scrooge & Marley.  Kaufman sang this song in the movie, and members of Lakeside Pride were among the musicians who contributed to recording the original motion picture soundtrack for this film.

This special evening is chockablock with holiday cheer, including “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” and selections from the classic animated movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas." And because no holiday concert would be complete without fairies – the sugar-plum variety, of course – we’ll be putting selections from “The Nutcracker” through its paces.

The holiday season is a time for giving, and Lakeside Pride will donate a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales to Inspiration Corporation, an Uptown-based nonprofit dedicated to helping people affected by homelessness and poverty.

Ticket holders have the opportunity to enjoy a special pre-concert prix-fixe menu of contemporary American cuisine at Inspiration Kitchen – Uptown, 4715 N. Sheridan, Chicago. Students and graduates of Inspiration Corporation’s award-winning Foodservice Training program prepare the food. To make a reservation, visit www.inspirationkitchens.org or call (773) 275-0626.

This concert is also an official Toys for Tots drop-off location. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to help the U.S. Marines deliver a message of hope to children in our city who are less fortunate. Lakeside Pride will exchange each donation for a discount coupon to our “British Invasion” concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 at Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence, Chicago.

Concert tickets are available online for $20 at www.lakesidepride.org and onsite at Preston Bradley Center before the start of the concert. Student and senior tickets are available for $12. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in Holidays To Go, a unique fundraiser where audience member have the chance to purchase a variety of goodies from merchants across the city valued between $20 and $50 for only $20.

Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities connect with diverse audiences through music. Inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2011, the Lakeside Pride Freedom Marching Band, Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band, and shhh...OUT! Lakeside Pride Jazz Ensemble reach more than one million people annually.

Now -- about those deep discounts.  Is FREE good enough?

1 -- Use the code GIVEAWAY13 - This will work for 100 FREE tickets to our concert. Individuals will still need to pay the $3 per ticket service fee (this in unavoidable). The code will work until the ticket allotment is gone. Limit 4 FREE tickets per person. Offer not valid at the door.

2 - Use the code UPTOWNUPDATE13 - Get 50% off full price tickets purchased in advance. Individuals will be able to redeem the offer until NOON on 12/14. Offer not valid at the door.

Please remember to support Inspiration Corporation and their fine work in Inspiration Kitchens, one of the best non-profits and best restaurants in Uptown, if not the entire city.

Our deepest thanks to Drew Favreau of Lakeside Pride and to the board of directors for making this offer available to Uptown Update readers.