The Mix — The World Music Festival (and 7 more cool things to do this weekend in Chicago)

There’s a whole lot of fun things to check out this weekend around Chicago. Here are our picks:

1. GLOBAL VIBES

Chicago’s World Music Festival runs Sept. 11-22 at venues across the city. The FREE fest boasts more than 50 acts from across the globe in early every music genre on the planet. Check out our guide to the fest here.

2. SUPER-DUPER!

More than two dozen Marvel superheroes and villains come to life in “Marvel Universe LIVE!,” the arena-sized extravaganza headed to the United Center (Sept 10-13) and the Allstate Arena (Sept. 17-20). Check out our preview of the live show here. Tickets start at $25. Visit ticketmaster.com.

3. ROCK OUT

The three-day Riot Fest & Carnival music festival moves to Douglas Park this year with dozens and dozens and DOZENS of acts set to rock the park Sept. 11-13. The lineup includes: No Doubt, System of a Down, Modest Mouse, Flogging Molly, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Rancid and SO much more. Check out all the schedules/details here.

4. STARS UNDER THE STARS

Lyric Opera’s spectacular Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park (preceded by an Air Force Band concert) takes place at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Pritzker Pavilion. The free concert extravaganza will feature soloists of the Lyric as well as the Lyric Opera Chorus and Orchestra, in excerpts from Rossini’s “Cinderella,” Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and more. Visit lyricopera.org

5. A FIELD OF ‘CUE

Tickets are still available for the Windy City BBQ Classic, Sept. 12 at Soldier Field’s South Lot. Tickets (limited to 500) are $100 and include BBQ ribs tastings, beer/cocktail samplings, live music, cookig demos and of course, the BBQ competition in which pit masters from around the country compete for “best in show.” Visit windycitybbqclassic.com for all the details and schedule. All proceeds from the Windy City BBQ Classic will again benefit Operation BBQ Relief, a not-for-profit corporation founded in response to a need for relief efforts in tornado-stricken Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011.

6. CELEBRATING LAKEVIEW

The annual Lakeview Festival of the Arts runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 12-13 on Broadway (from Belmont to Hawthorne). More than 150 juried artists/craftsmen will be featured along with live music on several stages, an interactive kids’ area, food booths and more. A $5 donation is appreciated. Visit lakeviewfestivalofthearts.com for complete information.

7. A CHICAGOAN’S STREET SMARTS

When the documentary “Dreamcatcher” premiered on Showtime in March, Sun-Times contributor Patrick Z. McGavin described it as “a direct and searing exploration” of its Chicago subject. Now the movie reaches the big screen with a Gene Siskel Film Center run beginning Friday. “Dreamcatcher” follows the work of Brenda Myers-Powell, an advocate for victims of sexual abuse who draws on her own past as a former sex worker. Myers-Powell will be present for audience discussion at screenings Saturday and Thursday.

8. WE GOT TO BE BIG STARS

Counting Crows leader Adam Duritz says he tries to make up a new set list for every concert, drawing from some 80 songs honed over the band’s two-decade career. Aside from the hits (“Round Here,” “Mr. Jones”), who knows what will make it into the group’s 7 p.m. Saturday concert at FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island? Tickets: concerts.livenation.com.