Pride Fest Split: Parade and Festival Planned for Different Weekends
Organizers say they plan to hold Chicago’s Pride festival the weekend before the annual parade, gearing up for a potential ‘Pride Week.’
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Organizers behind the annual Chicago Pridefest celebration on North Halsted Street say they plan to split up the festivities, holding the street festival the weekend before the famed Pride parade.
Sean Kotwa—the general manager of Hydrate, Halsted’s Bar + Grill and Elixir Lounge—attended Tuesday’s East Lake View Neighbors Association meeting joined by Northalsted Business Alliance Executive Director Jay Lyon and Ramesh Ariyanayakam, the owner of Kit Kat Lounge.
Together the three announced the plan to change Pridefest 2013’s schedule.
“The changes we’re proposing is to have the festival on (Saturday the) 22nd and (Sunday the) 23rd of June,” Kotwa said. “We’re giving up Friday to help alleviate (congestion), especially with everyone coming home from work on Friday.”
The festival is traditionally held on the last weekend in June, with the Pridefest parade planned for Sunday afternoon. June 22-23 is also the weekend the Chicago Cubs play the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.
Lake View officials like Tom Elliott—the director of public relations at the Center on Halsted—and members of ELVN say they hear the move is to prepare Lake View for “Pride Week,” potentially connecting the two weekends in the future with more activities during the weekday. That’s combined with Independence Day celebrations on July 4 just days after.
“I think what they want to do is have the parade later so it’ll be a full week,” said Gus Isacson, Central Lakeview Merchants' executive director. “There’s a holiday after that, so it might be a week and a half.”
When asked about rumors of splitting the festival and parade to different weekends on Jan. 31, Northalsted Business Alliance Spokesperson Jen Gordon did not comment on specifics of the event.
“Pridefest details should be available sometime at then end of February,” Gordon said in an email. “I will keep you posted as soon as we have all the official details.”
Lyon told ELVN members Tuesday night that Northalsted Business Alliance plans to spend 30,000 this year on private security measures in Boystown, $5,000 more than Patch reported they spent in 2012. The money is used year-round, especially during summer, to help cut crime in the popular entertainment district, and it’s combined with Chicago Police’s new entertainment detail to curb crime in Lake View.
What’s more is the Northalsted Business Alliance says they plan to give the money donated when people enter the Pridefest street festival to the ELVN organization. Last year they gave roughly $7,500 to the Center on Halsted.
In This article
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Hydrate Nightclub
3458 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL -
Halsted's Bar and Grill
3441 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL -
Wrigley Field
1060 W Addison St, Chicago, IL -
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Alex campos
7:05 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Seems like a plan for the bar owners to just charge more money over a longer period of time.
bernie bradshaw
8:29 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
You hit the nail on the head.
The Truth
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
No doubt about it. My first thought at well.
Sara Alexander
6:58 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
There is nothing that says gays cant be greedy and after years of taking advantage of younger gays with cover charges, high drink prices, etc, they are finding people just dont have the money any more to keep them in the lifestyle they want to live in. I feel sorry for the tourists. I remember North End last year even had a cover charge during pride - that doesnt seem very community-oriented (let alone giving back). And before anyone jumps on me, giving $$ to the Center is NOT giving to the community.
Gloria Picchetti
8:14 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I voted "No way!" First they blocked off the parade so you can't cross the street despite the parade has huge gaps. You could have a picnic between floats sometimes! Then they changed the route. Now the parade doesn't even pass The Closet!
Now people who come from out of town will miss things if they can't stay a whole week?
The Truth
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Great. Extend the sex in the alleys, puke on front lawns for another week. The bars and gay establishments are hurting. Just another way to patronize the tourists to stay longer. This is nothing against gays as I am one (but never go to that "festival" as it patronizes all of us).
Mark Renn
11:56 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
This is a terrible idea. People like me who come from out of town cannot stay for two weekends. I will be forced to choose if I want to come up for the festival or the parade (never mind that the festival has been a joke for the past few years). I prefer it to remain the way it is so I can be there for both.
The Truth
6:01 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Unfortuntely Mark, you might be forced to celebrate elsewhere as the straight people (with dual incomes) will be the only ones able to afford to stay for the whole show and watch gay men makes fools of themselves. That's the areas target market now anyway.
There are some real fun, nice, non-$$$ grab Pride fests outside of Chicago where crime is the least concern of the celebrants.
Chicago already has taxi cabs staying away from Lakeview for "TBOX". After what I saw last year at Pride, you'll be lucky to find one within a 5 mile radius this year.
Roy Rodriguez
6:04 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Why is this change being done so late???? Many people have already made airline reservations for the weekend of pride, the dates given out publicly by that one sole individual who seems to think he runs pride and the whole gay community. I think it's time to develop or appoint a committee to handle pride events and scheduling. Why change now? Cannot this be held off until next year?
CubsFan007
6:54 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Yeah, its interesting how a couple of bar owners seem to "speak" for all of us. Also, its interesting that the CUBS take time to send surveys out, get public opinion, then lakeview groups do the same all over some more night games, yet all of this happens with out any community input. Twice I have been "STUCK" on one side of the parade and this year I will be outta town!! :)
Patch Reader
6:48 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Two different weekends would mean that tourist will look to other cities to travel to for Pride weekends. San Francisco has both Fest/Parade on the same weekend as does Christopher Street West in West Hollywood. I guess if a smaller, more local oriented Pride event is what Chicago want's, then this is a good idea
TJ Williams
7:17 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
This is an excellent idea. Now, the trolling, street-robbing thugs will have a full 10 days to line their pockets with the contents of OUR pockets.
Roy Rodriguez
11:31 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
TJ Williams that is precisely what will happen. Two full weekends of opportunity to thug our neighborhood. What happened along N Halsted, Belmont, Clark, Addision and some side streets, last year on the Sunday night of Pride following the parade and the day's events was absolutely inexcusable. No police presence anywhere. Thugs driving cars down N Halsted from 3800 to 3200 standing up while driving, pants halfway down, fat women in spandex walking around like whores, thugs breaking beer bottles on the sidewalk, trash talk and rude inappropriate comments to anyone not of their race, turning over residential and commercial trash dumpsters, urinating right out on the sidewalk, giving menacing looks to white people in particular, and using extremely loud outdoor voices in total disrespect and disregard for residents, hotel guests, and others in the area for the festivities. There is no need for thug-hooligans to be out on Halsted past 10pm (if at all) and this crap went on until 5am last year. Tunney is silent on the matter and will not respond to questions about safety and security plans for 2013. Emanuel's office did not return calls, emails or anything from a group of merchants along Halsted.
The Truth
12:45 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
These are not thugs. They are "just transient youth".
Just sayin
2:55 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
This is nuts. I already hate being blocked from my own home year after year while navigating the garbage, puke and watching people pee in my courtyard. Two weeks of this just prolongs the crime and mes. Get both the fest and the parade outta here! This is neighborhood and its gotten too big to handle for this area, use a park downtown to celebrate, have concerts and noone has to deal with the mess except the park district. This neighborhood is less gays and more straights, they've trekked to Andersonville.