A reader reports from The Raven festival:If you guys weren't at the Raven yesterday, its not too late! Its really the greatest street fair I've been to in recent years. ALL ORIGINAL BANDS. HUGE kids area with ponies, climbing wall, etc. Great little market vendors, not your average sunglasses & one hitters. A "bags" tournament. A misting tent. Bike valet. Dunk tank. Oh and funnel cake of course.
The M's are headlining tonight.
Yesterday was a great day for Chase Park. Tim Mitchell (CEO of Park District) brought at check for $333,000. Gene Shulter brought a check for $200,000. Chase Park Advisory Council is well on its way to raising the other 1/3 of a million dollars to rebuild the playground (which is only phase one -- think dog park!)
Anyway, all I wanted to say was all the folks reading this, it's a GORGEOUS DAY and there is a fantastic place to get out and see your neighbors and have some wood oven fired pizza or a smoothie - all local food vendors.
Sorry you can't get your photo taken on a giant fake wave, but you can listen to some incredible local indie bands (sorry, no Mr. Blotto here)
Hope to see some of you out there! (James & Richard were working at the West Gate yesterday as volunteers - feel free to come to the volunteer tent and help out!)
This was really the hidden gem of the summer. Several of the bands played Lollapalooza a couple weeks ago, only one was local. Amazing music lineup and the least populated festival of the summer, for $5.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great event! We went to Chase park for an early swim with the kids, then on to the festivities afterwards. The jumping area was fantastic and our children enjoyed Ms. Ann from the Old Town School of Folk Music. Applauds to the coordinating committee!
ReplyDeleteOne negative though- we called the humane's society on the horse handler. Our family has raised horses for years, and those horses were mal-nutritioned. We witnessed a few of them eating the wood chips on the ground, you could see the outline of their ribs! Horses DO NOT eat wood chips, ever, only if they are hungry. There was one horse that had a sign near it that said don't pet me. One of the handlers said that she had a rough ride in the trailer. I had my hand on the fence near her and she backed up like she was worried that there would be more human abuse.
We were disappointed in the Raven. Not many vendors and too many organizations pitching their causes. It was our first time so I have no past festivals to compare it to. However, I will say that you would have likely enjoyed yourself if 1) you have kids and 2)you like country music, which was all that we heard while we were there on Saturday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were thrilled with this festival. The music was great. Beer was cheap. And, considering it was the first year, I thought the turnout was really good.
ReplyDeleteHere's to many more years of this great new addition to the neighborhood.
I was all ready to enjoy myself at the fest - UNTIL some rather nasty "volunteers" at the entrance insisted on a "donation" of $5 to enter! Now I know that this has become common practice at street fairs that are sponsored by "neighborhood business organizations" - but really, you want me to spend $5 on entering a PUBLIC park that is already PUBLICLY financed by my taxes and user fees, and is co-sponsored by the ALDERPERSON who also lives on my dime? Forget it!
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for those families of 4 or 5 that attended - what, they had to pay $25 out of pocket before even getting to the booths? Good thing I didn't have any kids with me; they might have seen or heard their mom act rather unmotherly towards the gatekeepers.
Really, this has got to stop! If the organizers of an event like this can't figure out a way to make money from booth rentals, etc., they should re-think their business plan.
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ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteThis was a benefit to raise money for a new playground. I often get offended when a street fair charges an entrance fee for a commercial street, with the money designated for the chamber of commerce. But this was quite different.
It's a sad state of affairs that our parks have to resort to private funds for maintenance and upgrades, but that's a different subject.
I don't think the organizers quite knew how to market and plan this, as it was the first year. It was much more of a music festival than street fair. It would have been nice for the stages to face the lawns like they do at the Old Town School's Folk Festival in Welles park. Maybe next year.
Those bands were not cheap to book. The last time I saw the M's at Schubas it was $18. Two of the bands on Saturday were at Lolla, where a day pass was around $100 and $200 for the weekend. $5 was the biggest bargain ever for music fans.
but really, you want me to spend $5 on entering a PUBLIC park that is already PUBLICLY financed by my taxes and user fees, and is co-sponsored by the ALDERPERSON who also lives on my dime? Forget it!
ReplyDeleteI usually just walk by and don't say anything. It helps to avoid the confrontation. I did stop and pay for myself and my kids for the Raven because I wanted to support Chase park.
My issue is that they call it a donation(which has to be some sort of legal thing). If its an entrance fee then call it what it is. Lollapalooza is held in a public park, but they pay for that right and charge and entrance fee, not a donation to Perry Ferrel and Friends.
Ahh this weekend's Raven Fest reminds me of that awesome block party that was sponsored by Shiller's office....oh wait there hasn't been one! Living in the 46th ward is like seeing all the kids in the neighborhood get new bikes for their birthday while I'm riding the same old broken down Huffy.
ReplyDeleteGayle, I agree with you 100%! Same for windycityeagle. It annoys me to no end that the entrance fee is referred to as a "donation," but at least usually, you can walk by without anyone hassling you. At the Raven, we were stopped at the entrance and given a long speech about what the money was for. So if you didn't give (we did end up giving) you felt like a tool. Maybe the better thing to do is post some sign at the gate that explains briefly where all donations will go and let people make their own decisions.
ReplyDeleteDo I suck at Math or is one million dollars to rebuild a playground a batshit crazy amount of money for a playground?
ReplyDelete"Yesterday was a great day for Chase Park. Tim Mitchell (CEO of Park District) brought at check for $333,000. Gene Shulter brought a check for $200,000. Chase Park Advisory Council is well on its way to raising the other 1/3 of a million dollars to rebuild the playground (which is only phase one -- think dog park!)"
FYI: On the political front, this is how a million dollars and dog park plays out in a campaign.
Dogs? Million dollars.
People? Line forms to the left.
I'm exaggerating of course, but it's a good thing that Chase Park is NOT in the 46th Ward.
The gatekeeper signage is a problem at almost all the different festivals. They're vague by design. Confusion over competence is a preferred model.
Well, actually according to some flyers I saw around the neighborhood a couple weeks ago, Ms. Shiller DID participate in some sort of neighborhood fest in Clarendon Park the first weekend of August.
ReplyDeleteDidn't get there - heck, didn't get to a LOT of events this summer - because chilling out with the Cubs has been just so much more fun this year!
The Raven festival was very diverse and packed for its very first festival. There was lots of music and food from local restaurants.
ReplyDeleteFew people knew about the Unity Festival at Clarendon Park and there was almost no diversity of different cultures and income groups.
gayle, this is a charity event, not a business per say. Yes, they ask for a donation at the front gate, but it's completely optional. I'm not sure I understand the problem, unless they refused you entry if you didn't pay. It's clearly marked as a donation. I guess some will feel some sort of shame if they don't donate, but in my opinion that's more of issue with the customer, not the event. By the way, I was a volunteer and I was sent documentation that explicitly saying the donation was optional.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others - there will some minor issues, but overall I thought it was a really good first effort.
Re: Murray's comments...I think that all park facility improvements have to be done by city approved vendors. If you have lived in Chicago for a while you know what that means. ($$$) I seem to remember that "friends of senn park" experienced some problems in that regard. Anyone here privvy to more of the details? This whole business of communities & the park district has a lot of politics. I'd like to hear more from people who have been (oftentimes literally) "in the trenches" on this issue.
ReplyDeleteEdit - My above comments read a little terse, which is not my intention.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has regularly attended the myriad of Chicago street fests over the years knows that "Donation" is really a euphemism for "Entry Fee". While I also do not know the specific reason it is called a "donation," I am pretty sure (like Windy City Eagle) that this is for some legal or regulatory reason. However, to anyone who believes they are truly optional, I encourage you to attend next years' street fests and report back on your experiences when you try to enter without donating. This year's Taste of Lincoln Ave was a good example. The folks at the gate made a scene when my friend offered to donate at a lesser amount (the amount before they jack up the requested donation later in the day). If they just call it what it is, I don't think there'd be any issues. Just as many people would show up, but there'd be less verbal sparring at the entrances.
ReplyDeleteClearly, verbally abusing a customer is wrong. I really hope that didn't happen at The Raven. For what it's worth - just say you live on the street you are entering if you don't want to deal with the hassle. They'll let you right through without a word.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great fest, I went Saturday to see locals, the Thomas Pace Band, they sounded great as usual but the entire lineup was great, the food, the entertainment for kids, the ponies cracked me up... It was nice to James and Richard at the gate and it was great to talk to them about the politics of Uptown and James sounded like he is ready for another run at Helen. I think that a good time was had by all.
ReplyDeletejust say you live on the street you are entering if you don't want to deal with the hassle.
ReplyDeleteI used this tactic for years for Taste Of Lincoln. "I need to pickup food at BW3". The person at the gate would always tell me to hurry back and I'd kinda laugh as I walked by.
just say you live on the street you are entering if you don't want to deal with the hassle.
ReplyDeleteI used this tactic for years for Taste Of Lincoln. "I need to pickup food at BW3". The person at the gate would always tell me to hurry back and I'd kinda laugh as I walked by.
Oh, I should have combined both these thoughts into one post, but I think it was the BEST festival i've ever been to if you had children. There is usually one bouncing thing for the kids to play on, but I think there were four, plus pony rids, face painting, etc. I think the Raven should really embrace this and in a few years it could become THE festival for people with children.
ReplyDeleteWindyCityEagle,
ReplyDeleteI agree, it was by far the best festival I've seen for children. At a risk of sounding crass, I wonder if they can continue having such a robust children section. I suspect beer is the largest source of their profits.
Matryushka, gayle, windycityeagle...wow...are you really that jaded? This was a first time neighborhood festival where the proceeds were going to build a new playground at Chase Park. You couldn't part with a $5 donation? That is pretty sad.
ReplyDeleteI think they did a great job. Very well organized, a decent(not huge) selection of food, and an amazing line-up for the bands.
Windycityeagle, I definitely agree with you that it was the best festival I have seen for kids all summer. I hope they keep this up in the years to come!
$5 "donated" to the front gate (the people I confronted were more like extortionists in demeanor!) is $5 NOT spent on food and merchandise! (Hey, the economy is not that great, lots of us have to watch our pennies.) When we go to street fairs, "unity festivals," etc. we want to give our money to the vendors who are taking valuable time off from their usual business activities in order to do something good for the community. This "admission fee" nonsense has become a real irritant in recent years, and there has to be some way that the organizers of these events can do away with it and still make a profit. And as posted above, I am ESPECIALLY ticked off when I'm asked to pay admission to a public park!
ReplyDeleteSo, since I didn't attend, can someone fill me in on an issue I raised in an earlier thread? Were the Shakespeare-oriented Chase Park Players among the entertainers? (And SHAME on the organizers if they weren't!) And did anyone stand up and give an impromptu reading of Poe's classic?
Here's the trick, kids - if the fest is on a public street, it is a donation and they CANNOT make you pay. If the fest is on private property, then they can and will make you pay. I make it a rule to never pay at these street fests, because I more than make up for it in what I spend on food and beer. I just walk right by, and if they ask for the money I say "no thanks." I hardly ever get hassled.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I WANTED to pay yesterday because I wanted to help the park. But since I didn't get there until 7:15 or so, they told me not to bother and just go right in. I thought that was kind of ironic...
I thought it was nice for it being its first year and competing with the air show. My wife and I went on Saturday afternoon around 2:30. We entered through the south entrance on Clark. I didn't have any issues paying the donation, but when I opened up my wallet, I realized that all of the money I thought I had were in my other pants and I only had $3 on me.
ReplyDeleteI said "Crap" and looked at my wife, she didn't have any money, and the volunteers at the gate were very nice and said "Don't worry about it! It is just a voluntary donation. Have fun!" So I did not see people pushing the donation at all when I went in. We wanted food and the ticket booth didn't take credit so we went to the bank at Clark and Leland to get money. When we finally left the festival I actually gave the volunteers $10 for us since we didn't pay going in.
I think they need to work on getting a couple more booths involved and filling out the space more. I liked the idea of the bags tournament. Neither of us have ever been in the park building before so we walked through and checked it out. I am interested to see how busy adult lap and adult swim are during the evening. I wish the park offered a couple of more sports leagues for adults other than basketball. When you suck at basketball, it can be intimidating going to the court by yourself...
One thing I would change for next year is to not plan the festival on the same weekend as Air and Water show. I also wasn't a big fan of having to buy tickets in order to buy food or drink. I understand that the charity gets it's definite cut that way, but with a festival of that size it seemed like an unnecessary step.
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ReplyDeleteAwww...c'mon, Chuck. Of course we are your neighbors. This is what neighbors do---twitter, complain, get into petty debates, poke fun, laugh, get ANGRY and get so irritated by one another that it seems the only sensible thing to do is throw your hands up and ask "where did all of these nuts come from anyway??!"
ReplyDeleteMessage boards do have a tendency to dive into the negative more often than not but I really do believe that this forum has helped people exchange ideas, information and it has and will produce some good things in the real world. I do hope you come back and I have a feeling you will. Visiting Uptown Update is my preferred way to take a mini-break from other things I do in my day. There is a lot to be said for embracing it for what it is---faults and all. :)
For what it's worth, Chuck (and anyone else who is actually READING here)...I am a teetotaler who knows the proper use of a ladies' room, at Cubs games and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI am grateful to all the private and public entities who give us fun times in the city during our all-too-short summer. (Except perhaps for the Air Show, but that's a different thread.) My complaint is about public entities charging admission to what should be a free event since it's on taxpayer-supported property.
And we Cubs fans don't miss you, Chuck!
It is a free service.
ReplyDeleteThe festival and donation helps make Uptown a better place to live. It's the reason I enthusiastically volunteered and others donated.
For what's its worth, I think a family of 4 would have seen quite a bit of value for 20 dollars. Seriously, they did a great job with the childrens section. One thing the festival needed was an ice cream booth (they only had root beer floats). The kids would have loved it.
I too volunteered at this event and was more than happy to do so (especially since I was in one of the beer tents). I thought it went really well for its inaugural year! The children's area was great and the musical lineup was quite impressive as well (one of the bands had been on David Letterman a few weeks back)--definitely not your standard street festival lineup. This was one of those rare fests that had something to offer for the entire family, and I suspect next year we'll see a noticeable increase in vendors...
ReplyDeleteAnd whether you want to call it a donation or an entry fee, it is indeed voluntary, which is exactly why it is considered a 'donation'. Why anyone would fuss over forking over $5 to improve playground facilities (the impetus behind the fest in the first place) is beyond me. We're talking about one less beer here, right? (Incidentally, the entry fees and the liquor sales are by far the two biggest sources of revenue for the Chase Park Advisory Council, not the vendors.)
The link below explains in greater detail some of the proposed improvements to the Chase Park facilities. I think I also read somewhere that part of the million dollars raised will go into some kind of fund designated for upkeep of the park:
http://www.chaseparkplayground.org/playlot.html
If you didn't make it this year, you missed a great time! You should also consider volunteering next year--it came right down to the wire as far as getting all of the shifts covered. And for what it's worth, in addition to the free "The Raven" tee-shirt, we were each given ten food/drink tickets at the end of our shifts...
I've never begrudged any host organization their "donation". These events are in part intended to raise money for the organization. These are not city sponsored (read directly tax supported) events. If you can't afford the donation, fine. If you're just too cheap, that's fine too (but don't complain about others wanting something fo nothing). Lighten up, enjoy the neighborhood, enjoy the summer (what's left of it.)
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to pay the 5 bucks, simply don't go, my goodness. It was pretty clear that this festival was a charity event for Chase Park. I happily paid the ten for myself and my hubby and even bought things from the stands.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to pay the 5 bucks, simply don't go, my goodness
ReplyDeleteWell then if thats the attitude, why does the Raven get exclusive use of a public park? I can't do that. And if my options are pay to enter or go home, then ITS NOT A DONATION!!
You can'y just go and bastardize the english language to make what you're doing sound better than it is. If its an entry fee then its an entry fee.
And let me be clear, I AM TOTALLY COOL WITH IT BEING AN ENTRY FEE. And I think most people are as well. Also, I HAPPILY PAID 5 BUCKS FOR EACH MEMBER OF MY FAMILY, including my one year old son who didn't really enjoy anything(he would have been just as happy attempting to eat any patch of grass in the city).
i certainly hope that those bitching about $5 were not the same people i saw pulling beers out of their backpacks. it was a charity event, people. and anyone who saw the sign for it knew damn well, before they left home, that it was going to be $5 to get in.
ReplyDeletei too have a beef the tons of other street fairs that charge to get in when it only benefits the local businesses. but once again, this was a benefit for a park. a park that kids play in. and, as i've been reading this blog long enough now, isn't a park for kids to play in giving our local youth an alternative to hanging out on street corners what all of us gathered here are looking for?
suck it up you complainers. it was five freakin' dollars.
sorry.... those posts really got me going today.
"Well then if thats the attitude, why does the Raven get exclusive use of a public park? I can't do that."
ReplyDeleteSeriously?? You do get the part about The Raven being A FUND RAISER FOR THAT VERY SAME PUBLIC PARK, right?
It doesn't sound to me like you 'happily' paid $5 for each member of your family at all. What exactly is the problem? That they ask for a voluntary 'donation' when in fact you feel it's a mandatory 'entry fee'? Are we just getting hung up on semantics here?
Yes, "semantics" does seem to be an issue here. For many of us, asking for a "voluntary" entry fee to a fest is like an officer asking his Army unit for "volunteers" for an assignment. Vets know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteBottom line...an event that's "open to the public" on "public" land should not be depending on "admissions" (however you want to call them) for revenue. Revenue from vendors (not just the beer booths!) should be the main source of income.
Maybe a Bingo game next year? The churches have done well with including that with their summer fund-raisers!