Just two months after news broke that Riot Fest was moving out of Douglass Park and heading to southwest suburban SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview for its 2024 edition, festival organizers on Wednesday announced the music extravaganza is returning to its Chicago home next month.
According to Wednesday’s announcement from the Chicago Park District, 24tth Ward Ald. Monique Scott and fest organizers, “strong support from the North Lawndale leadership and community” was among the key reasons for the location about-face. The festival is slated to run Sept. 20-22.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the festival’s website still reflected a Bridgeview event.
The announcement also noted discussions with the park district “about a longer-term partnership that will secure the future of the festival in Chicago” are part of the deal.
The festival announced its exit from Douglass Park in June after a 10-year run plagued by controversy in recent years between community groups who hailed the event as a viable economic asset for the North Lawndale area and other community groups and local residents who saw the festival as a noisy detriment to the neighborhood that impeded summertime access to the park.
As required in years past, 10 percent of revenue from Riot Fest will be reinvested in Douglass Park under the auspices of the park district’s enhancement fund. The 2024 festival is expected to generate roughly $712,000 for the fund, which will coordinate capital improvement projects for the site with input from the community.
In June, festival co-founder Michael Petryshyn (aka “Riot Mike”) told the Sun-Times that the decision to move the festival to Bridgeview was due to an “unfair process” during the permitting stage and he was looking forward to “going somewhere where people want you.”
In an interview with the Sun-Times Wednesday, Petryshyn was asked about how the decision would affect diehard festivalgoers.
“We have the best fans in the world,” he said. “I think the stability part of it is what I want to impart. We are in Chicago, we’re not going to be leaving. This is home. This is not how we planned it. … We just did a 360 … when we do moves like this, No. 1, we think, ‘what about the fans?’ This has been debated now for months because without them we are nothing. They are in many ways the soul of it.”
Petryshyn said a discussion with Mayor Brandon Johnson also influenced the decision to bring the festival back to Chicago.
“After we announced [the move to SeatGeek Stadium], we got a call, and shortly thereafter from the mayor’s office, and I had a meeting with [him],” Petryshyn said. “It’s the first time anybody in that position ever reached out to Riot Fest. He just wanted to talk. … I walked out of there seeing a mayor who was authentic and listened.
“It was genuine from the start, with him saying, ‘This is not good for Chicago.’ In that first meeting, it was just a conversation about culture in the city. Later in the week, I made the decision, maybe there is a way to come back — and that meeting resonated with me. So for the past few months we’ve been working toward that.”
Scott praised the reversal: “Independent and alternative cultural assets like Riot Fest invigorate our local economy by creating jobs, attracting tourism, supporting our youth and providing a national stage for small businesses and artists from North Lawndale and Little Village. Riot Fest’s return is a win for our community, and we look forward to the continued positive impact it will bring.”
As for Bridgeview’s leadership, Petryshyn had nothing but high praise.
“In the end, even Mayor Steven Landek, he was happy for us and said you guys belong in Chicago. Our door is always wide open for you guys. … They opened up their doors to us, they were accommodating, they were wonderful to work with, and I will always be grateful for that. … There’s a future of doing stuff there.”
This developing story will be updated.
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