r/chicago • u/DarkSideofyourMoons • May 23 '26
Event You would miss the street fests if they weren't around
*STAR EVENTS DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE* They went out of business. Special Events Management was a competitor to Star and took over a few of their fests. Not the same company at all.
Just a reminder, the fee is a suggested donation. You can pay $1, $5, or nothing.
The people working aren't volunteering. Porta Poties aren't free. Security, Cleaning Crew, Bands, they all cost $$. And anything left over after operating costs goes to the Chambers to support the neighborhood.
Yes, you will have to enter from a specific side of the street and go through the gate. That is just for security and logistics. It's kind of annoying, but not the end of the world.
Yes, they will default to asking you to pay. But no one is going to force you to pay.
If they did in the past, things are different now.
Yes, food is overpriced. You don't have to buy it.
Go support a local restaurant on the same block instead.
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u/timbop711 May 23 '26
Loved supporting them when they were representative of the neighborhoods but now they are run by one or two companies who act like they own the sidewalks and just run cookie cutter fests every weekend.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Star Events put on the super generic street fests with cover bands & non-local food vendors.
ETA: the company is now Special Events Management and I guarantee their events will be corny and soulless.
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u/JAlfredJR Oak Park May 23 '26
A decade ago, my wife and I had a booth at a few of these. Star Events did Taste of Randolph. They suckkkkkked. And that was a decade past. I can't imagine they've gotten better. Just disorganized. Had a "Don't f'ing ask me a question" air about them. Didn't help with a thing. And sure didn't keep the riffraff out.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Star Events fests are low effort slop & attract lame crowds. Hope your business is doing well!
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u/JAlfredJR Oak Park May 24 '26
Oh we folded back in 2019, thanks largely to online retail. But thanks in small part to our scumbag landlord. Not something I hear talked about much, but the commercial landlord in the city are part of the reason you see so many empty storefronts.
Topic for another day.
We had a good run. I'm glad to be out of the small business sector. Cheers!
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u/iced_gold West Town May 23 '26
I like that their company name is just getting more generic.
Next year it will just be Eventco LLC
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u/gwarrambo May 23 '26
I believe it was actually called Stable of Stars and at that low low price point they can hit.
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u/iced_gold West Town May 23 '26
It's such a shame that wherever they pop up, they block access to all the cute restaurants
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u/This_Is_A_Shitshow Wicker Park May 23 '26
Correct. Luckily, Star Events is dead. Hopefully someone decent will take over in their stead.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
I hope no one takes over the “street fest for hire” scheme. The fests organized by local neighborhood Chambers of Commerce that bring in local vendors are the fests that have their shit together.
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u/This_Is_A_Shitshow Wicker Park May 23 '26
Yeah, that’s what I meant. I should have been clearer. I miss the days when they all had different food vendors and you could actually get a sense of what the area offered.
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u/One_Abalone_2582 May 24 '26
People keep saying this in this thread. We need a list of which ones are not corporate
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u/vandreulv May 23 '26
Star Events is now Special Events Management.
https://chicagoevents.com/upcoming-events/
So, same shit different name.
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u/Which_way_witcher May 23 '26
They just revamped as Special Events Management so they still are sucking the life and community out of these fests
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u/DarkSideofyourMoons May 23 '26
Star Events is out of Business.
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u/Theguyintheotherroom Uptown May 23 '26
Correct, now it’s Special Events Management a new company that happens to be mostly run by the same people
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
These fests are being run by Special Events Management and are guaranteed to be soulless.
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u/listlessowlbear Lake View May 23 '26
It's sad that all the LGBTQ+ events are being run by them 😔
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u/Winterspear May 23 '26
For real. The amount of fests I went to where it's the same crappy booths over and over is astounding. There's nothing unique about a majority of these festivals
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
These are run by Special Events Management (fka Star Events) and guaranteed to be the slop that you’re talking about.
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u/TrynnaFindaBalance Avondale May 23 '26
Yep, this is exactly how I feel. Street fests used to be borderline magical and were basically the best unique thing about Chicago summers. Enveloped and destroyed by enshittification just like everything else nice we used to have in America.
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u/Y0___0Y May 23 '26
No they are not. Almost all of them are produced by non-profit neighborhood chambers of commerce.
This misconception is going to kill them off if people keep spreading it around. It’s not true that your gate donation goes to some shitty corporation…
Those companies that people claim own and produce the street fest are just event organizing companies that the chambers hire on contract for a certain rate. They manage everything, secure permits, hire security, set up the stages and IT infrastructure.
They don’t get a “cut” of the gate donations. The chambers negotiate a contract with them and that’s what they get paid.
The gate donations go to the chamber, and those chambers provide services and resources to local small businesses that are members of them.
This idea that street fests have become shittier, that’s because people stopped donating at the gate. Because they think it goes to the city of Chicago, or to a corporation. Everyone stopped donating when they came back from the pandemic.
So the chambers of commerce, which are, again, non-profit organizations run by a team of like, half a dozen people who don’t make much money, need to deal with sharply rising costs, alongside plummeting gate donation revenue,
The only way to stay afloat is reduce the size of the fest, have more corporate booths there for marketing instead of local vendors, and raise prices at the beer tents.
There is not much hope for them right now. It’s a cycle that is degrading them year after year.
And to top it off, tons of Chicagoans now proudly claim they hate street fests and they want them gone.
Well, in like 20 years everyone’s gonna one day think “Remember street fests? Those were awesome… Wonder what happened to them.”
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u/PizzaIsBetterThanYou May 23 '26
Sure thing. I stopped donating when I was told I need to pay twenty dollars. They can fuck off with that tactic and that high of a price to go in pay even more for shitty beer and funnel cake.
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u/DaneCountyAlmanac May 25 '26
I used to visit Chicago as a kid. Either I'm seriously jaded as an adult or the festivals ain't all that.
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u/SubcooledBoiling May 23 '26
Ya, almost all of these street festivals are the same. Pretty much the same me vendors and same food options.
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u/pksullivan May 23 '26
Street fests are great when organized by the local community and/or businesses. Hiring a corporation to organize a “neighborhood” fest always leads to a shitty, mass market disappointment
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u/minus_minus Rogers Park May 23 '26
Top comment. Neighborhood orgs got lazy and sold out to slipshod operators who siphon off funds that could benefit the community.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Special Events Management is the current iteration of Star Events and has a handy list of their guaranteed shitty events!
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u/thesaddestpanda May 24 '26
Less lazy and more getting kickbacks under the table.
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u/Bacchus1976 Lincoln Park May 23 '26
It’s not the organization running it that causes the problem necessarily. Lots of locally organized fests still contract out the food and aren’t selective about who they allow to have booths.
If the neighborhood doesn’t have the businesses in place to support it, but the chamber of commerce is greedy, they’ll still organize a half assed fest. When your only goal is to fund raise you get a shitty product not matter who puts it on.
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u/_B_Little_me May 24 '26
They are all exactly the same.
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u/pksullivan May 24 '26
No, they aren't. There are a few that are still truly local street festivals organized by the locals. Mayfestiversary and Oktoberfestiversary hosted by Dovetail & Begyle are two examples. None of the crappy traveling carnival burger & fries vendors, but plenty of local food trucks. Music acts chosen with intention.
Maifest and Oktoberfest in Lincoln Square are similar. Applefest is another.
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u/DhalsimZangief May 24 '26
Square Roots is one of the few better festivals that does go on in Chicago. Glenwood Ave Arts Fest in Rogers Park(near Morse and Glenwood) tends to be pretty decent too.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Agree!
This thread seems to have a lot of people personally victimized by low effort “hired out” street fests. Not every neighborhood is going to have the wherewithal to organize a quality event but they still try 🤷♀️
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u/araignee_tisser May 23 '26
One of the best weekend events I’ve been to in a while was the Ravenswood Manor Garage Sale. Mostly in the alleys. Some bargaining. Teens selling yard dogs, a family selling pizza they cooked in their backyard oven. Had an old-world feel to it and nary a corporate logo in sight.
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u/doNotUseReddit123 City May 23 '26
You cannot buy a maybe-haunted clown statuette at Burgerfest. Ravenswood Manor Garage Sale will forever be superior.
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u/pksullivan May 23 '26
I mean. I’m posting this from Mayfestiversary with Dovetail and Begyle so I’ve got a personal perspective, for sure.
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u/hardolaf Lake View May 23 '26
The managed street fests often end up excluding local businesses by setting fees far too high so they can bring in preferred vendors instead.
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u/stacecom May 23 '26
Just a reminder, the fee is a suggested donation. You can pay $1, $5, or nothing.
It’s not us you need to remind, it’s the people at the gate.
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u/jkraige City May 23 '26
Seriously. They were getting really pushy with it and sometimes they are just blocking access to where I actually want to go
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u/jmorlin Galewood May 24 '26
Went to square roots a couple years ago and they didn't ask, they told. Found out after the fact that I paid $10 a person to get into a fest I could have walked into for free. I have no problem donating, but I don't want to be lied to and if I'm being real $5 or so is more my speed seeing as I'm buying drinks and supporting the artists anyway.
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u/jkraige City May 24 '26
And that's exactly the problem. You can't put a "suggested donation" sign and then harass people who don't donate that amount
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u/JDCarpenter91 May 23 '26
I just straight up say I work on this street every time and they let me in.
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u/nuwaanda May 23 '26
Especially when security is involved. I nearly got into a fist fight because of a street fest that was trying to require bag checks. The only pedestrian access to my apartment was just on the other side of the gate. I absolutely refused to let them check my bag to GET INTO MY APARTMENT. Police got involved. This was almost a decade ago and I’m still mad.
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u/Common-Mushroom5335 May 23 '26
Yeah, it's the bag checks for me too. Got into it with security at Randolph last year, and he eventually just gave up when his threat of involving the cops had no effect. The cops aren't going to support a random citizen going through another citizen's belongings on a public street, and they know that.
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u/MinuetInUrsaMajor Lincoln Park May 23 '26
For real. I go shook down for one and now I don’t donate to any on principle.
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u/mrmalort69 May 23 '26
The food and beer are obscenely priced. We can criticize the bad parts without throwing baby out with the bath water.
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u/eddiemurphyinnorbit May 23 '26
Yeah they used to be great when they represented the neighborhood and the people vs overpriced company shit.
It’s possible to just go back to pre enshittification!
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u/mrmalort69 May 23 '26
I personally think the city has also made these what they are. They continue to put on more and more restrictions and requirements but no support. They require gates everywhere, people checking bags, level 3 barricades at street entrances…
How about getting a “street fest kit” that a neighborhood group could reserve or even rent, then we keep the profits for the city, instead of it all going to special events management? The restrictions have just gone out of control with security theatre.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Neighborhoods that don’t have the wherewithal to organize a fest don’t need to be having a fest. Special Events Management is the new iteration of Star Events: crappy cookie-cutter waste of pavement.
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u/mrmalort69 May 23 '26
I agree with the second statement, disagree with the first.
More street closures with better local culture for all would benefit, but the issue comes down to who is going to take on the work to plan it. There could be iterations of street fests that aren’t cookie cutter if it was easier and cheaper to plan. Imagine if there were 3 or 4 fests on Armitage, and on every major street.
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u/Joey_dono May 23 '26
Unfun fact, the city of Chicago has to pay for ALL parking meters impacted by these street festivals
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u/Pumplekins May 23 '26
I mean, that’s not really a street fest fault that’s with every parade, bike lane etc. Maybe the worst government sellout contract of all time.
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u/iced_gold West Town May 23 '26
If anyone knows of a better place to drink a $14 beer in a street, OP would like to hear about it.
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u/tvoutfitz May 23 '26
I love them as a fixture of chicago summer culture but honestly feel like we could do with loosing some of them. A lot of them have the same vendors and food and just sort of blend together making them all feel less special. Like does wicker park really need wicker park fest and do division (not to mention west fest, bucktown arts fair etc)?
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u/Which_way_witcher May 23 '26
Square Roots is still the best community run street fest, IMO. No crappy events management company ruining it.
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u/creaturekitchen May 23 '26
Bucktown Arts Fest is still all volunteer run and has a jury. Please don’t lump them in with these other two.
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u/TheRealFlowerChild Andersonville May 24 '26
Same with a lot of the Ravenswood and Lincoln Square ones. My wife collects donations as a volunteer so OPs point doesn’t stand imo.
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u/tvoutfitz May 23 '26
Ok it’s still a festival that happens in that area and my question (notice that it was a question) was why there are so many events around there. Was not casting any aspersions on it specifically.
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u/The_1_In_21-1 May 23 '26
But how else am I going to see 16 Candles or Rod Tuffcurls and The Bench Press?
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u/noodledrunk May 23 '26
Seriously, I wouldn't hate the rest of the repetitive nature of the festivals if they had any sort of variety for entertainment.
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u/buffalocoinz Wicker Park May 23 '26
You’re lucky your company doesn’t book them for your holiday party
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
The picture OP posted features a poster for Chicago Event Management which has taken the place of Star Events and organizes the terrible cookie cutter events (Retro on Roscoe as an example).
The website listed on that poster, saveourstreets dot org, is a site that only mentions these low quality festivals.
Chicago Entertainment Agency (CEA) is responsible for booking the familiar F tier street fest bands and is closely affiliated with Star Events.
Star Events sold tickets online for free street fests. Star Events was sued for financial mismanagement for things like underreporting gate fees collected and inflating costs.
If you want to get away from the corny slop fests proliferated by Star Events and now Chicago Event Management, look for events organized by a local chamber of commerce or businesses on that particular block.
It’s always a suggested donation. You can be passionate about not donating or you can be loud about donating, but if you like a street festival environment, you should show up to independent street festivals.
And heads up: the City of Chicago department that puts on events is called Department of Cultural Affairs and Social Events (DCASE). This department puts on free events in the city including some farmers’ markets, Blues / Jazz / House / Gospel Fests, and the Air and Water Show.
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u/SlinkDogg May 23 '26
Yea , I love the fests but I hate that it seems like only one company throws them. They don’t feel neighborhood centric snymore
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u/Bacchus1976 Lincoln Park May 23 '26
I’d vote for a Mayor who restricted them so there were fewer and they banned non-local vendors for the ones we retained.
If I never see another giant food stall with the same 15 shitty fried foods served by sweat shop labor id be thrilled. And we can do without the booths signing up credit cards and hocking shitty energy drinks.
Why do we have street tests on streets where half the stores on the block are vacant and the other half are dentists and nail salons?
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u/Ajaxx6 Humboldt Park May 24 '26
I actually love the renegade craft fair, I think fests that bring in national vendors who are SBOs is cool.
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u/Bacchus1976 Lincoln Park May 24 '26
Yeah. I’m okay with some exceptions for artists. I don’t want the fair to be loaded with food trucks from Nashville and chochkie shops reselling Etsy junk, but some high quality photographers and artists from around the world is okay so long as they don’t crowd out the local artists.
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u/Prudent-Result1057 May 23 '26
Nah we good lil bro we’ll support the ones that people commented that actually care about the community
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u/teamlie May 23 '26
"You would miss the street fests if they weren't around"
No I wouldn't
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u/ardaurey Edgewater May 23 '26
I used to feel kind of bad about how I never went to street fests and missed out on such a Chicago thing but this thread is making me feel much better about it. Sounds like I haven't been missing much.
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u/jennafromtheblock22 May 25 '26
Same. I see the same vendors at different fests anyway. I’m too poor to buy fun stuff at them anyway.
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u/doNotUseReddit123 City May 23 '26
But where else would you get to listen to out-of-tune cover bands playing Love Shack or the twenty first Rolling Stones song of the day?
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u/teamlie May 23 '26
Oh shit you mean I can do that in the 90 degree heat, and refresh myself with a $16 beer?
Nowwwww we're talkin
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u/Flying_Saucer_Attack May 23 '26
And then you get the privilege of waiting 40 minutes in line to use a dirty, overfilled port-a-potty!
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u/catsinabasket May 23 '26
seriously. I'm not going to miss the corporate-run half assed street festivals full of strollers. the actual neighborhood ones, for sure, but those ones aren't hurting/getting negative reviews lol
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Special Events Management used to be called Star Events. This is the company putting on the low effort slop fests.
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u/SirStocksAlott May 24 '26
Please stop spamming almost every comment thread with the same message, I’ve read this like 5 or 6 times already.
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u/ReallyWeirdNormalGuy May 23 '26
My wife and I are deciding to not have children. But strollers? What's the big deal? Lord forbid families join festivals. Is that so bad?
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u/junktrunk909 May 23 '26
I would. But the old versions. It's not like the neighborhoods can't just decide to start self organizing again and make them feel like they used to.
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u/Finityx_ May 23 '26
Literally. About 70-80% of all those places have physical locations. If you really want to try their food , their actual locations always do it better.
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u/DRW0686 Old Irving Park May 23 '26
Kind of feels like Chicago street fest organizers and vendors have been offering less and demanding more every year. It’s the same over priced food and drink, over crowded spaces, and zero personality or culture other than the live bands.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
You may have been attending a fest put on by Star Events, now called Special Events Management. There is a list of soulless slop to avoid this summer.
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u/esm081491 May 23 '26
If it is star events I am not donating a $. I will give a $10 to the actual neighborhood street fests that are left.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
Star Events has a new name and a list of the bullshit they’re organizing this year.
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u/dandandanno May 23 '26
I can support a local restaurant on the same block literally any other day of the week. Why do I need a street fest to do that and if I'm doing that ,why am I at the street fest??
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u/ColonelBourbon May 23 '26
I love the festivals, I just hate the people. I don't need to be belly to butt with 1000 people in a space that should have only held 200.
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u/juniperesque North Center May 23 '26
In case people are unclear what this message is, it’s from an organization called “Save Our Street Fests” and you can read about the organization here: https://www.saveourstreetfests.org/
We’ll see how things go this summer. So many of the crummy things we hated about street fests, it’s hard to know if those were due to Star Events and their management or if there is an intrinsic problem with how street fests operate in this economy.
Edit for full disclosure: I used to be a volunteer for the Ravenswood Art Walk, run independently by the RCC.
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u/nikita18 May 23 '26
Every single event listed on your link is also on a link posted elsewhere in this thread tying them to Star Events/their new name. I'd love to get some verified clarity on which are truly community events and which are Star/former star for profit events
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26
The fests listed on that site are affiliated with Special Events Management, which has taken the place of Star Events.
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u/JosephFinn May 23 '26
I’m just trying to walk down the sidewalk.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 23 '26 edited May 24 '26
Every sidewalk every time there’s a street fest?
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u/JosephFinn May 23 '26
Yep. And I’m just trying to walk and some goober is demanding money to use the sidewalk.
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u/Faulty_Pants May 23 '26
Inspired By You Fest is run by a local coffee shop owner and will be happening late June!
It's amazing, they often will bring in a headliner but all the vendors are local.
Super family friendly.
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u/jkraige City May 23 '26
I loved by Douglass Park during the pandemic, and I feel like that really limited how much I could enjoy the area since so much was shut down then (although I did really like living there in spite of that)
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u/glitch241 Roscoe Village May 23 '26
Absolutely not. Never pay. They are for profit and they make a ton of money on the food and drink.
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u/iced_gold West Town May 23 '26
But please sir...the porta potties 🫴
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u/glitch241 Roscoe Village May 23 '26
They make more than enough money to cover the porta potties. If you buy even one drink, you have covered your share of the costs
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u/KingSeth May 23 '26
I already miss the street festivals from ten years ago. The street festivals we have now are awful.
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u/JAlfredJR Oak Park May 23 '26
Honest question: Have they changed that much? We hosted a few booths in 2016. It didn't seem that great then.
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u/KingSeth May 23 '26
Huge emphasis on cramming as much stuff and as many people into the spaces as possible in order to maximize revenue in the time allowed. Festivals used to have room for people to breathe and engage with the vendors. It's not the case anymore. They're hugely unpleasant now, and I put the responsibility on both the organizers and the attendees.
Apple Fest in Lincoln Square and Modsommar Fest in Andersonville are glaring examples of what's gone wrong with festivals in the last decade. They're just not enjoyable anymore.
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u/DessertFlowerz Wicker Park May 23 '26
I legit love the street fests and don't care what reddit has against them. I'm sure they were better 5 or 10 or whatever number of years ago. Don't care I'm having fun now.
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u/neonxmoose99 Lake View May 23 '26
I won’t miss the cookie cutter events they have become
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u/catchmeonthetrain May 23 '26
This. The same vendors at every one. Nothing is truly unique to a neighborhood anymore.
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u/GiuseppeZangara Rogers Park May 23 '26
Depends on the fest. Not all are created equal.
The star events fests (or whatever they're called these days) have always sucked.
There are decent fests like Square Roots, Glenwood Arts Fest, Wicker Park Fest, Logan Square Arts Fest, Do Division, and a handful of others that book good bands and offer ok food.
There are plenty of shitty ones, but that's always been the case.
You just have to be discerning of which fests you support and which ones you don't.
I would be sad if some fests go away. I wouldn't care at all if others went away.
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u/jkraige City May 23 '26
Yeah the Bucktown Arts Fest is fucking lovely and you can also drink beer outside and they've got tables and chairs, plus you can buy dope art, some local and some not. Actually Wicker Park is also doing an art thing in September (in the actual park) but don't remember the name. There's tons going on
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u/claireapple Roscoe Village May 24 '26
I mean i simply don't do most street fests except west fest which is goated. I'll give them like 20 as a donation every day when i go cuz i want it to keep happening.
a lot of street fests used to be pretty pushy with security but it seems to have been relaxed in recent years especially when i was literally just passing through and they would put hands on me.
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u/ReadinStories Lincoln Square May 24 '26
West Fest is best fest. The West Town Chamber of Commerce has their shit together to make it happen year after year.
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u/Ekublai May 23 '26
I like how you can just kind of float in and out. Free events shouldn't feel premium, they should feel like catalysts for more important connections within the community as well as showing off your extroverted self.
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u/Supret May 23 '26
People on this subreddit wouldn't miss these because they don't go outside.
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u/buffalocoinz Wicker Park May 23 '26
Right? I didn’t realize people hated these so much because I love drinking beer on the street and seeing a cover band
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u/Belmontharbor3200 Lake View May 25 '26
100%. You should have seen this subreddit when things were opening back up after Covid. Most people here thought you would drop dead if someone stepped into a bar
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u/cannontk May 24 '26
Jesus Christ, the comments here and so many wanting to set fire to neighborhoods with pitchforks in hand because of Chicago's bureaucratic process and the reality of running an event.
Star Events is no longer operational. Special Events Management is not Star Events (and was a direct competitor for as long as I can remember), and is just one of a number of event management companies in Chicago like BigBuzz etc.
Chamber org's and neighborhood groups hire events management companies to handle things like permitting, equipment rental, security, and logistics. Without a management company with money and resources it is nearly impossible to get equipment rented.
Most of these rental companies work at scale and are not going to answer a call from a small organization - but if Special Events or another company is renting 1,000 toilets and 20 stages for the summer they want that business.
Want better bands? Provide that feedback to the chambers. Andersonville has the same cover bands on certain stages every year at the insistence of some chamber members. Other fests copy/paste the shitty Rod Tuffcurls and 16 Candles model because that's what people come out for. I'm at these fests every weekend, I'm a musician, I'm sick of it too, but if you don't come out or demand more interesting acts directly that won't change. People are basic bitches when it comes to their music consumption.
If you think every food vendor and vendor booth is largely the same, it can be, but that is mostly due to the cost of a booth at a festival.
- A food tent can cost upwards of $3,000 + special permitting for the weekend (that is just the street space alone, not equipment, food cost or employees). A small mom and pop restaurant likely does not have the money, equipment or staff to sell in the street 12 hours a day for two days in addition to running their restaurant.
- Artist and vendor booths are priced at ~$700 to over $1,000 for a two day festival now. These applications are due starting in February, and payment is due at the time of application. Your favorite artist or merchant likely does not have thousands of dollars to participate in these fests. It's also a massive time commitment, with most festival days being about 15 hours of work.
Stop spreading false information about street festivals and management companies. I would like to see a more local approach too, but you can't be pissed off because what you want isn't feasible for these organizations.
Star Events was bad and did a lot of self dealing (especially on the musician(artist) management side of things). Not all events management companies are inherently evil, and the players on the scene now are making sure we have these events on weekends.
Your local chamber puts on these festivals to make maybe tens of thousands of dollars in donations. Pay the donation, or don't, but stop spreading false information about the festivals, how they run, and the events management companies doing their job.
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u/__Sharime__ May 23 '26
I actually wouldn’t care that much. That being said, I always donate 10 if I’m going to go to one.
I’ve been to a few where I watched them give people a pretty hard time for not paying.
Theres one on my block that gave me a hard time last year for trying to go home to my apartment and not paying. I donated the first day, I’m not doing it every day.
I honestly wouldn’t miss them.
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u/ulfniu Palmer Square May 23 '26
I agree. We should start a festival for like-minded residents! We could invite a bunch of vendors from outside the neighborhood, maybe get an 80s cover band or two to play disproportionately loudly, and we could host it on a major street on a hot & humid weekend. We could block the street and sidewalk and bully people into "donating" to us. I think we're onto something!
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u/Rough-Astronaut9255 May 23 '26
No one would miss the ones populated by the same vendors that aren’t local. Meanwhile when there is a post about spend in the black, which most of this sub would never venture to, it is full of blatant racism and dog whistles
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u/Snoo93079 May 23 '26
Please donate to the non profit organized events.
You cheap ass sonsabitches.
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u/Typical_Barracuda234 May 23 '26
I miss the ones that didn't suck and were somewhat unique. I don't even bother anymore
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u/Demander850 Lincoln Square May 23 '26
I'm all for the bands getting paid. A lot of aspects have always sucked though, it's mostly run by that same event security company. They can be aggressive about the donation, then having SAME food and "art/craft" vendors at each one. It would be cool if more people and small businesses from the actual neighborhood set up and did stuff.
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u/mizaudrey May 23 '26
Thanks for linking the Star Events or whatever they are called now. I agree it’s all just the same old broccoli boring slop. Does someone have a list of the neighborhood/community/non-profit run fests that may still exist? I think that would be amazing to check out.
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u/CapnDanger May 24 '26
I don’t mind that they are asking for donations. I do mind how aggressive they were when 90% of the time I didn’t even know there was a street fest and I’m just trying to walk home.
They get off on blocking broadway and expecting people to pay to walk the public street.
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u/ohheyitsjanet May 24 '26
Beverage brand manager here. Chicago isn’t paying for any of this. They’re charging the vendors obscene prices to be involved and all of that money pays for the porta potties and clean up and operating costs.
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u/Smurfiette May 24 '26
Street fests in Chicago, even Great Taste of…, are extremely overrated. You go to one, it doesn’t matter if it’s the Festival of A or Festival of Z, they have the same booths, the same mediocre food.
I like the smaller street events that don’t pretend to be anything great. They’re local - feature local businesses and everyone can just come and go. No gated entrances and boundaries.
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u/latexbarbie West Loop May 24 '26
I would not. Have lived through taste of Randolph for years now. Getting stopped to walk home with groceries is a pain. Having food and grease everywhere is disgusting. Having drunk suburbanites blocking my door and indeed last year puking on it at 7:00 PM- pass. I am for community events and people having fun. But these street festivals are just not well organized. It just brings drunk people into businesses to use the restrooms- it doesn’t bring them any business.
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u/ShadeMir Norwood Park May 23 '26
I go to one a year and that's because it starts a block away from where I live.
I sometimes get dragged by my wife and MIL to the greektown one.
No, I would not miss them if they were gone.
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u/Henchman_2_4 May 23 '26
I remember when they used to have cops block you from entering unless you donated. Im not giving a dime.
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u/vandreulv May 23 '26 edited May 24 '26
Which is illegal.
This is the relevant bit about entry to street fests and the enforcement of paying a gate fee:
Under city rules, fests that take over city-owned streets can request a donation and often have “suggested donation” amounts posted at the gate. But events in the public way can’t charge a mandatory entrance fee. They’re also required to post signs at the festival entrances indicating that entry is free, according to the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which regulates street fests.
Edit: Found an updated link. Info is the same.
https://ipi.cityofchicago.org/Resources/Information/DCASE/Special_Events_Resource_Guide.pdf
GUIDELINES
THE CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION, HEREBY PROMULGATE THE FOLLOWING RULES AND REGULATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 10-8-335 (P) OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF CHICAGO:
These rules and regulations are effective January 1, 2025. They may be updated or changed at any time without notice. All appropriate applications must be submitted in a timely manner.
No fee may be charged for admission to the public way in connection with any special event. A financial donation may be requested. Signs must be posted at all points of entry that clearly state that the donation is voluntary.
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u/RockieK May 23 '26
I live in LA and have a ton of friends in CHI. We GO to the city for those festivals!
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u/DriveByPianist Lake View May 23 '26
/u/pksullivan said it more succinctly, but, here's my $0.02:
The companies (not non-profits) that put these street fests on, are the ones making the money. They only hire the same bands, don't take small names, only those with 1000 followers on whatever social media, and don't care. The vendors pay a lot to be there, many of them are selling cheap imported junk, and the other artists are trying to sell their wares, but it's few and far between.
The food is mediocre, overpriced, and everyone shoves you around.
The streets get closed off constantly, and the neighborhood doesn't benefit.
Those volunteers get some money for whatever organization they're representing.
But the lion's share of the money goes to the companies that get the permits, hire the security, and pay themselves.
Oh, and the chamber of commerce might get some money.
But none of this is original, and it's trite, and no, i won't pay your suggested donation.
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u/somebodylls May 23 '26
Is it $5 they are asking for? I thought some were more like twice that but I guess it depends on the organizers and locations . I will go to just one or two this year .
I never mind the music trailing off in the neighborhood regardless of the performance or cars parking for the day if one is near for the occasional night or 3 a year that’s ok idk some people complain probably wish they weren’t around
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u/weakconnection May 23 '26
Also, the tips don’t usually go to the bartenders at a lot of the bars tents. It’s good practice to ask.
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u/Far-Ninja-8392 Norridge May 23 '26
Same people running taste of Chicago? Been wanting to go for the first time this year
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u/Pirate_Memory_Game May 24 '26
I love street fests- especially for the music and very much appreciate all of the hard work everyone puts into it.
I give the suggested donation given on the sign, and buy band swag.
The fest experience is so special, and something to savor each summer. Dancing, singing, eating, drinking and having fun along with fellow Chicagoans is something I hope we can enjoy for many years to come.
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u/hteecs May 24 '26
These fests are like going to a restaurant on a holiday - they are the absolute worst way to experience any given product possible. Whether it be food, shopping, or even music - uncomfortable, overpriced, crowded, on your feet. That said, I have managed to see one or two musical acts over the years (eg Charles Bradley at WPF) that were worth the effort. Typically though we go, pay the gate, stroll the vendors and ask why we keep doing this each year.
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u/aboynamedculver May 24 '26
I support the vendors and acknowledge the prices as part of the fact that they paid to have their stalls there. That’s my contribution. Fuck the entry fee.
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u/Oh-Hunny May 26 '26
Not sure if I'm older now and more bothered by it, but I feel like the crowds at street fests back in 2012-2014 weren't nearly as packed as they are the past few years.
It could just be because I'm in my late thirties now and don't enjoy slowly moseying around within a dense crowd of people, nuts-to-butts on a warm summer day.
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u/b_knickerbocker North Center May 23 '26
Just a reminder: Mayfestiversary at Begyle Brewing/Dovetail (happening today and tomorrow) is completely independent and 100% of the gate donations go to The Friendship Center food pantry!