RAVENSWOOD — It's that time of year again: time to gorge on local art, architecture and history during the 12th Annual Ravenswood ArtWalk Tour of Arts and Industry, Saturday and Sunday.
After shrinking its footprint in 2012, the art walk is stretching back out from Lawrence Avenue on the north to Addison Street on the south. More than 150 artists are scheduled to participate over the course of the weekend — working in mediums ranging from film to jewelry making, from photography to mosaics.
New in 2013: the Ravenswood ArtWalk Detour — a craft beer garden and food truck roundup hosted by Begyle Brewing, Ork Posters and Neighborly.
Fifteen craft breweries and a rotating lineup of food truck operators will set up camp at Ravenswood and Berteau avenues from noon - 9 p.m. Saturday and noon - 7 p.m. Sunday. There's no admission charge; drink tickets are available for $2.50 each (two tickets will buy a 12-ounce pour) with proceeds from beverage sales benefiting the Ravenswood Community Council.
"I've been to other food truck roundups while traveling in other cities and had a lot of fun at them. We really want to see something like this happen in Chicago, given its 'foodie' roots and maybe as a way to say 'Thanks and we want you here' to the food trucks that have weathered the licensing storms with the city," said Jenny Beorkrem, owner of Ork Posters and Neighborly.
Beorkrem has partnered with Begyle before — the brewery's popular Neighborly Stout was created for Neighborly's grand opening — and she thought the art walk was a great opportunity to highlight the craft breweries and distilleries that call Ravenswood home.
"That's something very unique, maybe not duplicated anywhere else in the city," she said. "What's so great about the art walk is that you get a peek into what is usually hidden in these big, old industrial buildings. We wanted to be sure that this important part of the Ravenswood economy was noticed and celebrated alongside all the other great arts and industry that's here in Ravenswood."
Founded in 2002 as a way to involve the Ravenswood community in Chicago Artists Month, the Ravenswood ArtWalk showcases not only the Ravenswood corridor's burgeoning creative scene, but its history as an industrial hub. The repurposing of Ravenswood's vacated warehouses and manufacturing plants has been praised as a model for urban planning.
In addition to artists displaying their work from the confines of their Ravenswood studio, others are staking out temporary digs in buildings along the art walk route or are one of the dozens of participants who will have a booth in one of the festival's giant tents stationed at Ravenswood and Wilson Avenues.
A complete list of participating venues and artists is available online, along with a map.
Other highlights include music and dance performances, as well as short film screenings, held at 1801 W. Berteau Ave. Lillstreet Art Center is holding open studio hours for kids from noon - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The art walk weekend officially kicks off 7:30-10:30 p.m. Friday with an opening reception and artists salon at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4025 N. Ravenswood Ave. Admission is $10.
The art walk's hours are 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
