EAT
Kick Off the Weekend
Epic 112 W. Hubbard St. 312-222-4940
Try a gourmet take on happy hour by heading to this River North restaurant's lounge for half-price appetizers (normally $3-$15) including crispy duck wings, lobster cheese fries and ahi tuna tartare. 5-7 p.m. Friday.
Add Some Bounce
Carnivale 702 W. Fulton Market 312-850-5005
Invest in a future meal with Bounceback Weekends, where anyone who dines at this West Loop restaurant on weekends in January scores a $15 gift certificate to use for a February visit. 5-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
DRINK
Spicy Sippers
Encore 171 W. Randolph St. 312-338-3788
Love ginger? Try one of three new $12 cocktails mixed with The Big O, a small-batch ginger liqueur made in Missouri, including the Harvest Time, which also uses Wild Turkey infused with candied ginger and clove, hard cider and agave nectar. 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Go Retro
Beauty Bar 1444 W. Chicago Ave. 312-226-8828
It may be 2013, but you can party like it's not at Champagne Retro, which features '80s sets from DJs Matt Roan, Zebo, Heaven Malone and Matt Boy White, plus a hosted champagne reception and $3 Old Style. $5. No cover with RSVP: do312.com. 9 p.m. Saturday.
DO
Feeling Artsy
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago 220 E. Chicago Ave. 312-280-2660
Go on a scavenger hunt, snack on appetizers from Wolfgang Puck's on-site cafe and watch dueling performances from artists including Yonder Vittles and Commodore Gilgamesh of found footage group Everything is Terrible! at the museum's monthly First Fridays series. $14-$18. 6-10 p.m. Friday.
Get the Giggles
The Playground Theater 3209 N. Halsted St. 773-871-3793
Chase away the winter blues at Brass Chuckles, comedian Tamale Sepp's monthly showcase of comedy in all its forms, from sketch and improv to video and performance art. Will Kesling, Joel Kim Booster and the Puterbaugh Sisters take the stage at this BYOB show. $10. 10 p.m. Friday.
Soldiering On
Victory Gardens Biograph Theater 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-549-5788
Chicago actress Mary Hollis Inboden survived the 1998 Westside Middle School massacre in Arkansas, where two students killed five people. She tells her story along with an ensemble of her former classmates in The Warriors for Newtown, a reading benefiting the Sandy Hook School Victims Relief Fund. $15. 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
REDEYE TIP OF THE DAY
Lakeview's 2 Sparrows hosts a four-course dinner with pairings from Revolution Brewing on Jan. 25: 773-234-2320.
Samantha Nelson is a RedEye special contributor.