Latest news with #WickerParkBucktownChamberofCommerce
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chicago street festivals struggling to survive amid rising costs, dwindling donations
The Brief Chicago's beloved summer street festivals are at risk of disappearing due to rising production costs and declining gate donations. Organizers have formed a coalition called "Save Our Street Fest" after many events, including Wicker Park Fest, saw donations drop by as much as 50% in 2024. They are urging festivalgoers to contribute at the gate, warning that without public support, many festivals may not return after this year. CHICAGO - Local street festivals are a beloved part of Chicago's summer identity, but organizers say the future of many of these events is now in jeopardy. Pamela Maass, executive director of the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, sounded the alarm in a Chicago Tribune op-ed published Friday, warning that escalating costs and declining gate donations are pushing some of the city's most iconic festivals toward the brink. Maass said her group has now formed a coalition of more than 20 Chicago festivals under the banner "Save Our Street Fest" in an effort to preserve these events. What they're saying According to Maass, Wicker Park Fest saw a 50% drop in gate donations in 2024 — a blow she called unsustainable. While vendor booths and concessions help fuel the local economy, she emphasized that those revenues go directly to the individual businesses, not the organizers. "When you're walking past that gate thinking, 'My $5 doesn't matter,' everyone else was starting to think the same thing," Maass said. Local perspective Without sufficient gate donations, Maass said organizers are forced to scale back programming. Wicker Park Fest, for example, will lose one of its three music stages this year, and some vendor slots have been eliminated due to budget constraints. She also noted that public safety costs are nearly on par with the price of booking original live music acts. Despite the perception that the city sponsors these events, Maass said local nonprofit chambers or community groups shoulder the full financial and logistical burden — including hiring private security, which is required to obtain city permits. The coalition's message this summer is simple: donate at the gate. Maass warns that if 2025 mirrors the donation shortfalls of last year, several festivals may disappear for good. Street festival organizers who have joined this movement include: Belmont Sheffield Music Festival Ribfest Chicago Andersonville Midsommarfest Taste of Randolph Wells Street Art Fest Chicago Pride Fest Square Roots Fest Roscoe Village Burger Fest Ravenswood on Tap Wicker Park Fest Northalsted Market Days Thirsty Ears Festival Edison Park Fest Lakeview Taco Fest Edgewater Music Fest Ravenswood Art Walk Lakeview East Festival of the Arts Norwood Park Fall Fest Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest Oktoberfest in Avondale The Source This report came from an interview with Pamela Maas Wicker from the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.
Axios
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Chicago street festivals face uncertain future, organizers warn
Chicago street festivals are a summer staple, but some organizers say the future of fests could be bleak. Why it matters: Neighborhood street festivals celebrate local communities and provide economic boosts from the foot traffic and revenue they bring to businesses. Driving the news: Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce executive director Pamela Maass warns in a Chicago Tribune op-ed that neighborhood festivals could end if donations continue to dwindle. Maass' op-ed is written on behalf of 20 groups, including organizers of the Belmont Sheffield Music Festival, Roscoe Village Burger Fest, Northalsted Market Days, Thirsty Ears Festival and Chicago German-American Oktoberfest, among others. Reality check: By city ordinance, street festivals have to be free, but donations are requested at the entrance. State of play: Many festival goers assume the festivals are funded by city taxpayers, and while that's true for big events like blues and jazz fests, neighborhood street festivals are funded by sponsorships, vendor fees and donations. What they're saying: "In 2024, Wicker Park Fest saw record-breaking attendance. Despite the turnout, gate donations reached their lowest point in our history," Maass writes in the op-ed. "This year, we've been forced to scale back the footprint of the fest. We are eliminating a stage, booking fewer performers and making additional cuts to reduce our costs."
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Future of Chicago street festival at risk due to rising costs, lower donations
Some beloved Chicago street festivals are downsizing this year because of rising costs. The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce told CBS News Chicago that festival essentials are more expensive than in past years, and donations at entry gates have dropped. Because of that combination, we can expect to see some cost-cutting moves this year, such as fewer stages and fewer performers. This includes the Wicker Park Fest and Northhalstead Market Days. Twenty Chicago street festivals are now coming together to form a coalition to raise awareness about this issue. It's headed by Pamela Maass, a member of the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce. She says the cost of producing these festivals rises every year for things like security, EMTs, insurance, fencing, and portable bathrooms. And unlike city-produced festivals, these neighborhood fests do not get city funding. If the event uses public streets, sidewalks or parkways, they can't charge for admission and are limited to asking for donations at the gate. Maass says those donations are plummeting, partly because people think these are funded by taxpayer dollars. The Silver Room Block Party did not return last year and now many others are at risk. Some of the festivals apart of this coalition include Ribfest, Andersonville's Midsommarfest, and Chicago's Pride Festival.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Pamela Maass: Chicago's beloved street festivals are struggling to survive
In 2023, Chicago lost one of its most beloved street festivals. The Silver Room Block Party, staged by Hyde Park community leader Eric Williams, announced it would not return in 2024. What began as a small neighborhood gathering blossomed into a massive cultural event, welcoming tens of thousands of people each year over nearly two decades before abruptly shutting down. Williams pointed to rising production costs and declining attendee donations as primary reasons the Silver Room Block Party could not continue, highlighting a reality that all street festival organizers face right now. The cost of producing a street festival in Chicago has skyrocketed. Security, entertainment, portable restrooms, insurance and even basics such as fencing and staffing have all become significantly more expensive. At the same time, donations at festival gates have dropped dramatically. Chicago's summer festivals are about more than just entertainment; they are economic engines that directly benefit the neighborhoods they're in and the city of Chicago as whole. Street festivals drive foot traffic to local businesses and foster the kind of cultural vibrancy that makes our city special. That is why the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has formed a coalition with 20 nonprofit street festival organizers (and counting) in a critical effort to preserve our neighborhood street festivals and their futures. We often hear people ask why we solicit donations at our entry points, especially when the city's largest festivals, such as the Chicago Jazz Festival and Chicago Blues Festival, do not request donations. The fact is, unlike those large, city-produced music festivals, your neighborhood street festivals receive no city funding and rely on a combination of sponsorships, vendor fees and gate donations to cover their costs. Wicker Park Fest, now in its 21st year, has long been one of Chicago's most anticipated summer festivals, drawing upward of 70,000 attendees for a full weekend of live indie music, local art, small business vendors and, most importantly, community connection. In 2024, Wicker Park Fest saw record-breaking attendance. Despite the turnout, gate donations reached their lowest point in our history. This year, we've been forced to scale back the footprint of the fest. We are eliminating a stage, booking fewer performers and making additional cuts to reduce our costs, all while striving to keep the festival as vibrant as ever, as supportive of local artists and businesses, and as true to Wicker Park's unique spirit and reputation as festgoers have come to expect. That said, this is not a sustainable trend. If gate donations continue to decline, street festivals will continue to shrink or simply disappear. The economic and societal impact of this will extend far beyond the events themselves. Without these public events driving foot traffic and local spending in the area, small businesses, many of which rely on a single weekend of festival crowds for a significant portion of their annual revenue, will be severely affected. In turn, the unique cultural identity of each neighborhood will be at risk. Wicker Park Fest and our fellow nonprofit-run festivals are immensely grateful to attendees who have donated at the gates in past years. Your contributions have allowed Wicker Park Fest to come back each year and stand as a pillar in Chicago for more than two decades. However, as costs continue to rise, ensuring the future of these festivals depends on the generosity of attendees. This summer, as you enjoy your favorite neighborhood street festival, I hope you'll remember that they exist because of community support. A thriving summer festival season doesn't happen by accident; it happens when we all chip in.
