Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Raven Returns - June 5, 6 & 7

Mark your calendar and make sure to fly over to Ravenswood for Chicago’s newest festival on June 5, 6, and 7. Enjoy three days and nights of food, entertainment, and merchandise from Chicago vendors for families of all ages. Located in Ravenswood, Chase Park - 4701 N Ashland.

For band lineups and more information go to starevents.com.

The Kidz Nest is where the true Raven magic can be experienced. In the nest, children of all ages can participate in face painting, entertainment, interactive activities, and inflatables.

If you think you could be the Cornhole champ, join us in our second annual Cornhole Tournament. The competitive and non-competitive tournaments start at 3 pm on Saturday June 6. Sign up to join in the fun!

10 comments:

  1. At least this year the $5.00 admission fee is being publicized, albiet in tiny print on the poster. I was one of many who showed up last year, unaware of the admission, and decided not to pay it as a form of protest. I'm still not happy about "community fests" charging allegedly "voluntary" admission, but at least now they're being honest about it.

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  2. I'm with you Gayle. I'm happy to pay 5 bucks as long we're not masking it as something voluntary.

    BTW, I've never seen Trippin Billies, but I've heard good things about them, should be a fun little show on Saturday night.

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  3. Gayle, there are costs involved.. the bands, the Kidz Nest (which apparently also needs spelling lessons), security, etc. $5 isn't much for that. And the goal of the donation is to enhance the facilities at Chase Park, which is a noble one. I'm sorry you feel imposed on by the fees, but $5 is about half of what you pay to see a movie, and about a tenth of what you pay for a concert. Plus, there are countless volunteers giving months of their time planning this thing, as well as working for free during the festival.

    Seems very reasonable to me for a day of entertainment, but YMMV.

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  4. Good grief, Gayle. You still have your undies in a bind about that?
    For those who did not attend last year, it was an amazing festival especially considering it was their first year. Great music, good food, and TONS of things to do for little kids. I still think it was the best festival for kids in Chicago last summer.

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  5. I don't see how $5 is really a big deal. The actual cost of putting something like this together is at least $20 per person. However, with donations from sponsors, organizers are generally able to pay for a majority of the event and a minimal fee is used to defray the remainder of costs. It's not like they are making a huge profit margin and keeping it for themselves. Just my 2 cents. If you are going to show up with a bad attitude and protest at the door, you probably shouldn't be going to a festival to have a good time anyways.

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  6. I think you're all missing the point. The issue is the use of the word "donation", when clearly its an entrance fee. No matter what kind of value you get for your "donation" its not a donation.

    Words have meaning and you can't just use whatever you want. Just like the term "mixed income housing" means something, so does the word "donation".

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  7. With all the high prices thats charged for food and drinks you would think somebody is really making money. In the old days a street festival was just that. Now its only about making money and from what I seen last year they for sure do.........

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  8. A few notes about this. $5 "donation" has to be worded as such because festivals are not allowed to actually charge a "cover charge" such as clubs can do. Secondly, they actually lost money last year. Too much money was spent and the festival lost money as a result. The money that is made on this festival goes to improve the park. It doesn't just go into someone's pocket at the end of the day.

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  9. A reader involved with the Raven wrote the UU mailbox and said:

    "The $5 for this particular event is NOT voluntary. The entire festival occurs on park property and is not on the public way. Pay the $5 or don't get in. The proceeds from this festival, if it makes any (and last year there was NOT a profit made) will go toward a badly needed new playlot at a major park that serves all parts of the community. Hope to see you there!"

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  10. Those of you who complain about this $5 charge astound me. You spend all fall and winter complaining that about Uptown and how little there is to do. Something that is amazingly family-friendly and NOT in Helen's ward (she won't allow such wickedness) comes along to raise money for a PUBLIC PARK and you sit and bitch about it. I'm sure you won't be missed. I went last year and didn't see either one of you and, guess what, didn't bat an eyelash over it. And gladly paid so kids could have a playlot.

    Maybe you'd rather those children hung around Clifton? I hear that carnival is free.

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