No Longer a Riot as Riot Fest Leaves Chicago
Riot Fest brought tens of thousands of people to the often neglected North Lawndale community on Chicago’s West Side for the past 10 years. Organizers announced this week they are moving the event to suburban Bridgeview because they are tired of dealing with the Chicago Park District. The loss of the three-day event will be felt economically for those in the community. Photo courtesy of Riot Fest.
The city has been focusing much of its attention on preventing potential riots at the Democratic National Convention this summer and in the meantime are losing popular music festival Riot Fest to suburban Bridgeview. Losing out on a music festival that generates money, marketability and the use of taxpayer land to give residents joy is one of the biggest mistakes the Chicago Park District has made. Riot Fest, which for the past decade has taken place in Douglas Park on the city’s West Side, announced this week they are moving the event to Seat Geek Stadium. Chalk it up as another L for Chicago, which has a history of running money-making events that people enjoy out of the city and into the suburbs or neighboring counties. This also comes on the heels of the Hyde Park Music Festival coming to an end as was announced last month due to rising costs, in addition to the Silver Room Block Party for the same reasons.
The festival had been receiving some pushback from local residents who complained about noise, traffic and other things that come along with a music festival. But you know what? Get over it. Wrigley Field during the summer, the NASCAR race, events at the United Center, all interrupt the lives of those who live around it. They seem to somehow survive the temporary annoyances.
Chicago has a bustling music, art and food scene. Our summer festivals are how we got the nickname “Summertime Chi.” Now because of bureaucracy and stupidity, yet another event will benefit another municipality. Riot Fest co-founder Michael “Riot Mike” Petryshyn told the Chicago Sun-Times he was taking his festival where he felt wanted. In addition to upgrades in parking, hotels and better transportation options, he said the new host venue for the three-day festival in September will allow for him to create the vision for the festival he wanted all along.
Level Up Racine sponsors video game competitions for youth throughout Racine, Wisconsin and was founded by a Chicagoan who couldn’t get the program started in her hometown because of red tape. Photo courtesy of Level Up Racine.
Petryshyn isn’t the only Chicagoan who has had to take their business elsewhere after having to deal with the city. Ironically, I met native Chicagoan Ivette Camarano, the owner of Level Up Racine, last night in Wisconsin. Camarano is a teacher in Wisconsin but grew up in Rogers Park. Level Up Racine is a video game lounge that provides a place for teens who don’t have access to e-games at home to come and play in a safe setting. In addition to selling traditional board games, old-school video games and playing current games on video game systems, Camarano has also been able to hire teens from the community to work and provide career coaches. However, she tried to start the program in Chicago first, she told me, when I just happened to walk by the store at 215 Sixth Street and was invited in.
“So, what happened?” I asked. “Too much red tape in Chicago,” was her response. She said having to deal with alderpersons, the city and get this approval and that approval proved to be too taxing on her one-woman enterprise. She added there also seemed to be no sense of urgency from city officials to what she was trying to do. In Racine, Camarano works as partner with local police, library and park and recreations departments to do her outreach.
Just like Petryshyn, she went where she felt she was wanted as Racine officials jumped at the opportunity. They were in the process of revitalizing their downtown landscape and Camarano’s business fit perfectly. Now three years later, Camarano is seeing the benefits of her decision in downtown Racine as kids stream into the place all year long. She is now looking to expand the program into suburban Skokie, Illinois. I suggested she speak with officials at Niles North High School and get them involved.
The fact of the matter however is that neither Camarano or Petryshyn should have been put in the position to have to make the decisions they made. With all of the crime being committed by youths in Chicago (police just arrested a teenage female responsible for robberies on the CTA trains), the city should have prioritized any program, of any scale, that is trying to engage teens and get them life lessons through experiences they enjoy. Believe it or not, you can now get college scholarships for playing video games. In addition, giving residents a music festival is another great way to build a sense of community and maintain Chicago’s reputation as a world-class city.
Riot Fest started in Humboldt Park, its loss to the North Lawndale area will have economic consequences. In addition to losing out of the foot traffic in the area that will affect local businesses, not having the festival will lower the profile of North Lawndale and since Riot Fest featured punk and rock music, it is sending the message that diversity in music is not welcomed there.
The residents who complained that the park being shutdown for some days was a hassle are correct. But they are also going overboard with the complaints saying local kids couldn’t use the park in the summer. Well, the event doesn’t happen until September, so they will be in school or involved in other activities so that is a crock. Also, Douglas Park is huge and many locals don’t use the park anyway as it has problems with crime and many people I know, including my family who live across the street from the park, forbid kids from going over there alone due to gang activity. Riot Fest meant that there would be a heavy police presence in the area and crime actually would go down.
”They’re named ‘Riot’ but they’re not a ‘riot.’ They give back and they’re willing to solve any problem,” said Latasha Ajayi, a resident of over 50 years and who has served as the president of the Douglass Park Advisory Council, during an interview with WTTW last May. “They’re visible all year. It’s a miracle to have that number of people in the park and no crime. There’s more money made outside the festival than inside.”
Seeing that Mayor Brandon Johnon is a West Side resident himself and a former teacher, he should understand the struggles of communities like North Lawndale and people like Camarano that are trying to make a difference. It is yet another mistake by the administration of a rookie mayor who is quickly making it easier to unseat him in three years.