ChicagoFest

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ChicagoFest was a summer music festival in the city of Chicago, started in 1978 by Mayor Michael Bilandic. It was held annually at Navy Pier, and lasted for roughly two weeks. It featured several bandstands, some sponsored by local radio stations that broadcast live from the festival, with country, blues, jazz, and rock bands performing. There were up to 600 performances scheduled each year; a few of the many famous acts that appeared over the years are Muddy Waters, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, and the Blues Brothers.

In addition to a main stage for each day's headliner, ChicagoFest featured multiple, themed music stages that each would present four acts a day. They included a rock stage, blues stage, country stage, jazz stage, kids' stage and oldies rock on the roof. Acts early each day drew from area bar bands, but the final act of each night on each stage was usually a nationally known recording artist. Joan Jett, .38 Special and Point Blank were among the acts not on the main stage, but on the rock stage. Asleep at the Wheel and Carl Perkins were among country stage features. The Buckinghams and Jan & Dean were among oldies stage closers. The Web site http://www.outernetweb.com/chicagofest/ includes an image of a rock stage schedule, along with other ChicagoFest memories.

In addition to music, ChicagoFest also featured a carnival-like midway, a cinema, crafts, and food vendors.[1] As the festival grew over the years, it attracted roughly 500,000 visitors per day.[2]

The idea for ChicagoFest was taken from Milwaukee's Summerfest. [1] The success of the festival led to the creation of the Taste of Chicago and other, smaller neighborhood festivals.

[edit] Politics

After Jane Byrne became mayor in 1979, she attempted to cancel ChicagoFest. However, strong public reaction caused her to reverse that decision, and instead embrace the festival and rename it "Mayor Jane M. Byrne's ChicagoFest" [3].

In 1982, after black Chicago residents were angered by various events, including Mayor Byrne's nomination of three white board members to new positions in the Chicago Housing Authority, Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders called for a boycott of ChicagoFest. Stevie Wonder cancelled his scheduled performance, and a picket line was set up outside the festival. Later reports indicated that the festival lost millions of dollars that year. [4] [5]

ChicagoFest was eventually ended by Byrne's successor, Mayor Harold Washington.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Robbins, William. "Festival offers Chicagoans grand diversion from woes of sports, politics and winter", The New York Times, 1980-08-11, pp. A16. 
  2. ^ Klose, Kevin. "Chicago Shenanigans; City Council Members Ignore the Mayor's Call", The Washington Post, 1983-08-03, pp. A2. 
  3. ^ Davis, Robert. "Running Chicago", Illinois Issues, February 1995, pp. 22-24. 
  4. ^ Sheppard Jr., Nathaniel. "Angry blacks may boycott mayor's ChicagoFest", The New York Times, 1982-08-02, pp. A10. 
  5. ^ Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. (2005). What Does A Shining City On A Hill Look Like? The Legacy of Mayor Harold Washington. Retrieved on 2006-05-15.