Now that summer is consistent here in Chicago, the events that you can go to are flying by! Starting today, there are some pretty awesome events for geeks happening around the city.

First up is the Chicago Science Fest (May 28th - 30th). The Illinois Science Council is hosting this event in honor of the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus. Seems a little out there, but it makes sense when you find out that correctly predicted a solar eclipse through actual thoughts rather than depending upon natural causes or believe that an angry god is behind it. To remember this event on the day of the eclipse (May 28th) the Illinois Science Council decided to celebrate! Every day has different events which anyone with even a small interest in science would enjoy. These events include film screenings, digital art exhibits, and a number of research topic (ex: The Science of GMO Foods, Pain and Your Brain, and Math Can be as Delicious as Food). You can find more events and times by going to www.illioniscience.org.

Tickets:
$10 in Advance
$15 at the Door for all Programs
$30/$35 at the Door for an ALL-DAY Pass for Saturday

And if you find yourself wanting to do something a little more thrilling tonight, Friday May 29th, go out to the Opening Gala for Acrobatica Infiniti: The Nerd Circus! If you went to C2E2, you probably saw a few of their acrobats showing their skills above the crowds. The Acrobatica Infiniti cast includes contortionists, trapeze artists, acrobats, jugglers, and more. "Imagine if you will, a world where circus meets fandom; CosPlay meets acrobatics; and world-class performing artists bring to life your wildest fantasies. (You can read more here.)" The event will be held at the Vittum Theater and you can find more about times and special events (including raffle prizes, a photo booth, and circus swag) by going to www.vittumtheater.org.

Tickets:
$50 VIP Tickets
$35 General Seating
$40 At the Door

CodCon OPENS TODAY at 6pm!!!

Running from April 10th to the 12th, CodCon is a gaming convention sponsored by the College of DuPage Sci-Fi/Fantasy Club, located in Glen Ellyn on the College of DuPage main campus.You can find times for the convention on their website along with all of their open gaming times. Their list of events include everything from Kitsune: of Foxes and Fools to  Super Smash Bros Tournaments to Pokemon 3DS 1:1 Tournaments to a number of different kinds of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica events.

Tickets:
One day - $5
Two days - $7
All weekend - $10
Children 5-12: Half price
4 and younger - FREE!

And don't forget that C2E2 is in two weeks!!!

This convention has everything: Huge artist's alley, amazing cosplayers, intriguing panels, and just a warm atmosphere. They have most of their full list of events up along with a scheduler that you can download on to your phone to make sure youodn't miss anything! Special guests include Janet Varney (Legend of Korra), Timothy Omundson (Psych/Galavant), and John Ross Bowie (The Big Bang Theory) to name just a few. 

We will be posting more about this convention as the date gets closer, so don't miss out on some ChiGeeks.com only secrets.

Tickets are still on Sale:
Friday - $30
Saturday - $35
Sunday - $30
3 Day - $60
Sunday Kids - $5

(All of the ticket prices, excluding Sunday Kids, will go up the day of)

Thanks to the way our calenders are laid out, we can celebrate Pi Day on 3.14 or March 14th every year. BUT this year, we have the unique opportunity to celebrate a REAL Pi Day. As in the first 10 digits of Pi all at once. For those of you who didn't need to memorize these in high school, that would be 3.141592653. Meaning 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 AM or PM will be the only true Pi Day probably any of us will see in our life times. 

With that being said...What is there to do to celebrate?! With Chicago being such a big city, it's almost impossible not to find something to do for Pi Day!

First up, right off the bat at 9:26:53 AM, you can join the Illinois Science Council for their annual "Pi K". You can enjoy this 3.14 mile run (close enough to a normal 5k) celebrating pi, and get a pretty sweet Pi day "Pi K Run" t-shirt in the end. There are four different locations where you can participate in this event: Old Town (1620 N Wells St), Lincoln Square (4762 N Lincoln Ave), South Loop (150 W Roosevelt Rd), and Elmhurst (124 Schiller St). At the end of the runs everyone will be able to party it up with some pie, beverages, and games with prizes. Each run is $31 plus tax and have limited places so sign up here before it's full! All event proceeds benefit the work of the Illinois Science Council.

The Adler Planetarium is holding two different celebrations on Pi day. From 12 to 4 pm there are family activities (which are FREE) to all visitors with a paid museum admission. To name a few activities, there will be a pie eating contest, a parachuting pie challenge, and a "Pie in the Sky" solar observation, if the weather permits. Then at night for the 21 and up crowd, from 6 to 10 pm you can enjoy cash bars, a Nerdette podcast panel discussion, and even more Pi Day activities. These tickets are $25 and include sky dome shows and museum access. And of course there's going to be pie!!! Bang Bang Pie Shop, Hoosier Mama Pies, and Piece Pizza will be at the Adler all day and night.

And last but not least you can celebrate with other nerds and geeks at Geek Bar Beta! They will be serving a myriad of pies all day from open until close. They will also be including some charity pies to the face, face painting, and of course tabletop gaming. You can also enter to have your dream pie created with a chance to win that pie for FREE. There is a 10% off discount if you come in cosplay. And there will even be a special event at 9:26 PM. You can sign up for the Facebook event here.

If you know any other events in the Chicago area that you feel should be added to our list, let us know!

This convention came out of nowhere...unless you're a fan of AMC's The Walking Dead! Walker Stalker Con (February 21st - 22nd, yeah this weekend!) is not only a horror and sci-fi convention, it is a chance for people that are fans of TWD, Face Off, LOST, and Breaking Bad (to name a few) to come together and enjoy a convention focused on their favorite TV shows. Walker Stalker Con is the creation of The Walker Stalkers Podcast with James and Eric so you know the whole convention will be perfect!

You can find the schedule of events on their site here, but of course the most important part of this convention are the VIP events! If you've ever tried to meet one of the members of TWD cast before you know that they can bring in a pretty penny. For this convention, the VIP meet and greets include Steven Yeun ($320), Melissa McBride ($320), Emily Kinney ($320), and Chandler Riggs ($300). But there are so many more guests on the list for Chicago including Giancarlo Esposito (Gus from Breaking Bad), Harold Perrineau (Michael Dawson  from LOST), and Ming Chen (from AMC’s Comic Book Men).

Badge Prices:
Saturday Admission - $45
Sunday Admission - $35
Children Admission - 10 and under are free with a paid adult

In the next 2 weeks you will have a chance to go to two completely different and completely awesome conventions!

First up, this weekend, is Winter War. They're celebrating their 42nd annual convention! This is Champaign-Urbana, Il's annual adventure gaming convention that runs today through Sunday (Feb 6th-8th). Winter War started as a small event organized by the Conflict Simulation Society on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1974. in 2006, due to location issues Winter War moved to the Hawthorn Suites, which is one block south of the old Chancellor site.Their full event program is available online. There doesn't seem to be a required date for badges, which is awesome because they have plenty of events to go to including Warhammer Game of Thrones, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and Battle Royal!

Badge costs: 
Daily $10.00 
Weekend $19.00 
ASL Weekend $35.00 
Each Event $3.00

First opening in 1981, Capricon is an annual, four day long science fiction convention in Wheeling, Illinois. The focus is on science, science fiction, fantasy, and other related genres. Capricon 35 is also the annual gathering for Phandemonium (to promote Science Fiction as a literary genre and to promote the Chicago area science fiction community), a not-for-profit organization that is entirely volunteer run. 

Since 1999, Capricon has chosen to focus on a different theme every year. Past themes include "Mad Scientist", "Fun & Games", and even "Pirates!" The theme for this year is R & R. We're assuming they mean the standard "Rest & Relaxation", but we can't confirm. Any ideas?

While the convention isn't until February 12-15th, their badges are on sale now. Until midnight. That's right ladies and gents, Capricon 35 badges raise their prices at the stroke of midnight tonight (1/29). A 4 day pass is only $55 right now but will go up to $70 on Friday, so don't miss out!

Have you ever wanted to own a food truck and make weird combinations of food such as banana bread grilled cheese sandwiches or duck meat hot dog with purple potato fries? If you didn't before, you do now! 

From the creator himself, Ben Pierro, at Argyle Games: "The game is a casual, gateway game designed with humor in mind first.  It's a lite game that doesn't take itself too seriously, because in the end you may forget who wins or loses but you remember the laughs you shared with friends."

Foodtown Throwdown takes a tongue-in-cheek look at food trends to build a game all about creating the best food truck business in town. Strategy and humor play key roles in which will easily keep every age group entertained. Players compete against each other for ridiculous ingredients to complete recipes to add to their menus with absurd results. With 105 food themed cards, there are limitless combinations of wacky food to be made. You'll also need to establish your territory and publicize your truck, but watch out for attempts at sabotage from the other players!

You can help this game by contributing to the Kickstarter. We'll all be looking pretty snazzy in our chef coats and hats. Will you?

A throwback arcade that serves good beer and whiskey. 'Nough said....sort of.

With two different locations (In Wicker Park: 1366 N Milwaukee Ave and In Logan Square: 2363 N Milwaukee Ave) it's no wonder that Emporium Arcade Bar is a favorite for nerds and video game fanatics. Games line the walls of the space with shelves next to each machine to hold your drinks while you play. All of the 65 classic arcade video games and pinball machines run on tokens which can be purchased/converted at the bar. Four tokens to the dollar here, so bring enough to keep yourself entertained all night long. You'll find more to play than you expect. Be warned that both places can get pretty packed on the weekends and definitely during the summer. 

For the beer snob, Emporium also has 24 rotating taps of "America's best craft beers with as many taps dedicated to Midwestern breweries as possible". And for those that may want some harder liquor they offer over 50 different whiskeys at both locations! Start now by trying one a week and you may find yourself in a very happy place by the end of the year. You can find their beer list and full liquor list online.

For hours and all of their information please see our review here!

This week we're featuring Geek Girl Chicago!

Lauren Faits has been around the geeky Chicago scene since 2011, but surely has the past to prove her nerdy knowledge. She attends almost every convention that Chicago has to offer from WindyCon to C2E2 and CAKE to Anime Central and writes about all of her excursions. Besides that Lauren documents television, movies, games, and other events that anyone would find entertaining. Her geeks-pertise knows no bounds! She also has been featured in many articles for her cosplays, including The Geekiary! Subscribe to either her Facebook or Twitter to be updated on all of her blog posts.

Also, if you have an idea or suggestion of something for her to post feel free to email.

Click here to read our full review of Geek Girl Chicago.