The Dwell Guide to Events in Your City

Thursday, April 3

Learn to wield your rain barrel like a pro at this lecture on stormwater management techniques. 12:15-1 p.m.; The Chicago Architecture Foundation, John Buck Company Lecture Hall Gallery at the ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan Avenue; (312) 922-3432; www.architecture.org

Architectural historian Thomas Hines gives a talk titled The Other Hollywood, in which he discusses the modernist homes designed by Richard Neutra and Lloyd Wright (Frank’s son) for film stars. 6-7 p.m.; The Art Institute of Chicago,111 South Michigan Ave.; (312) 443-3600; www.artic.edu    

Friday, April 4

Now in its 24th year, the Latino Film Festival returns to Chicago with the latest in Latin American and Spanish documentaries, feature films, and animated flicks. Tonight catch opening night film El Prado de las Estrellas, director Mario Camus’ tale of life in Northern Spain. Through April 16. www.latinoculturalcenter.org

A screening of three Oscar-winning short films  Chernobyl Heart, Interview with Mai Lai Veterans, and A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin, is followed by a discussion with Eric Simonson, director of the last. 6 p.m.; Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St.; (312) 846-2600; www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter

Saturday, April 5

Need a little DIY in your weekend? Pack your battery-powered gear and head to the Old Town School of Folk Music, where you'll learn how to design bent-circuit noise machines. 1-4:50 p.m.; Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N Lincoln Ave.; (773) 728-6000; www.oldtownschool.org/classes/workshops

Last Chance: Apartment galleries are a dying breed in Chicago. Though California Occidental Museum of Art is the latest to bite the dust, it won't go before giving you one last look at COMA 18, an exhibit of local artists Stacie Johnson, Loo Bain, Catie Olsen, and others. 5-7 p.m.; California Occidental Museum of Art, 1626 N California Ave.; www.occidentalmuseum.org

From now through May 23, The Gene Siskel Film Center screens smoky, bullet-riddled Japanese Nikkatsu action cinema from the 1960s. Tonight, catch A Colt is My Passport, a 1967 thriller starring Jo Shishido as a hitman with his own honor code. 3 p.m.; Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St.; (312) 846-2600; www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter

Sunday, April 6

In its review of The Singing Revolution, a documentary on Estonia’s battle for independence, The New York Times wrote, “Imagine the scene in Casablanca in which French patrons sing ‘La Marseillaise’ in defiance of the Germans, then multiply it by a factor of thousands.” Catch this powerful flick's Chicago premiere today (5 p.m.) and Tuesday, April 8 (6 p.m.) Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N State St.; (312) 846-2600; www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter

Monday, April 7

German artist Hans Haacke likes to stick it to the man - take, for example, his 1971 solo show at the Guggenheim, which the museum canceled suddenly to avoid controversy. See what kind of trouble Haacke brews at his Dog and Pony Show tonight. 7:30-9 p.m.; University of Chicago, Court Theatre, 5535 S Ellis Ave.; (773) 753-4472; http://arts.uchicago.edu/artspeaks.html

Tuesday, April 8

Those concerned with the fate of our fine feathered friends should note this lecture on bird-friendly building design. 12:15-1 p.m.; The Chicago Architecture Foundation, John Buck Company Lecture Hall Gallery at the ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan Avenue; (312) 922-3432; www.architecture.org

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