CHICAGO — Riot Fest organizers announced Wednesday that the outdoor music festival would be held at Douglas Park this year after three years at Humboldt Park, declaring that the three-day punk rock show was ready for its "new home."
But is Douglas Park ready to embrace Riot Fest?
The idea was still up for grabs Wednesday afternoon, with local residents willing to at least give the long-running festival a chance.
"It's all right with me. They bring everything else here. They might as well. There isn't much they can tear up over here. Plus, it's a good location, right next to the police station," said John Wilkinson, who has visited Douglas Park weekly for almost 40 years.
"The only thing I'm trying to figure out is where they're going to put it," Wilkinson added, wondering how the setup would work in the park, which is also home to Collins Academy High School.
Douglas Park, located on 218 acres bound by Roosevelt Road on the north, California Avenue on the east, 19th Street on the south, and Albany Avenue on the west, straddles the North Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods. The north end of the park is in the city's 24th Ward, and the south end is in the 12th Ward.
Stephanie Lulay discusses the festival's move to Douglas Park:
Parts of the park are blocks away from the Lagunitas Chicago Brewery and taproom and Cinespace Chicago Film Studios.
While he hasn't seen Riot Fest's staging plan yet, Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th) said Wednesday that he expects the majority of the fest to be staged on the south end of the park, which is located in Ald. George Cardenas' 12th Ward. Scott said the deal to move Riot Fest from Humboldt Park to Douglas Park was in the works before he was sworn in as alderman.
Still, Riot Fest will affect the 24th Ward, said Scott, a former Chicago Park District manager. The alderman said he is "cautiously optimistic" that Riot Fest will be a good fit for the West Side park and give the North Lawndale neighborhood an opportunity to showcase itself.
Scott plans to meet with Riot Fest organizers and other North Lawndale community members early next week. The alderman said he will seek assurances from owners to head off fest-related problems.
"As long as we can put all of those issues to bed, hopefully we can create a successful event in Douglas Park," Scott said.
Cardenas could not be reached Wednesday, but he did tweet his "love" for the festival coming to Douglas Park.
Bienvenidos! The love from the #12thward is all for @RiotFest #chicago https://t.co/1q0tQL2JOj
— George Cardenas (@aldcardenas) May 20, 2015
Neither the layout of the festival nor the official lineup has been announced yet, but the lineup should be revealed next week, according to Riot Fest website.
Javier Mendoza, 22, said he just hopes they'll keep the f est as far as possible from the lagoon he was fishing in Wednesday morning.
"This is a good fishing spot, and stuff like that will tear it all up," said Mendoza, who is no stranger to the damage Riot Fest caused at Humboldt Park, a place where he played as a child and where he now brings his two sons.
"I take them there because that's where we went growing up. After Riot Fest was over, it was like: What is this? The swings were broke, trash everywhere. ... We can't even go fishing over there. It's sad, very sad. We're trying to make things better for our kids, and things like this just made it worse," Mendoza said.
Mendoza disagreed with moving the festival to Douglas Park, adding the move was setting the unsuspecting neighborhood "up for failure."
"If it was up to me, I'd just ban Riot Fest," Mendoza said.
Douglas Park, at 1401 S. Sacramento Drive, was a leading contender as an alternative park as tensions rose in Humboldt Park, because it is similar in size and layout, Scott said Tuesday.
"If you look at the field houses, the park layouts — [the parks] were designed by the same person," he said.
According to Riot Fest's website, the West Park Commission partnered with designer William LeBaron Jenney to create Garfield, Douglas and Humboldt Parks in the 1880s. The parks were "reformed and revitalized" 25 years later by architect Jens Jenson, who added "an ornate arcing entrance to Douglas Park, a formal garden known as Flower Hall and a reflecting pool."
The park is about a 10-minute drive from Humboldt Park, steps away from the Pink Line's California-Cermak stop, about a mile from the Blue Line, and a 12-minute car ride from Downtown.
Riot Fest officials said they're excited to embrace their new neighbors and businesses like Lagunitas, which is sure to be a hot spot for the punk rock festival just a few steps away from the park at 2558 W. 16th St.
"The great thing is that all of the neighborhoods offer up different things that are unique to them … and quite honestly, that’s what makes Chicago great. The people who know us — and for our new neighbors about to find out — we dive into the communities we call home and help out in any way we can," Riot Fest said on its website.
Karen Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Lagunitas, said they were very excited Riot Fest was heading to Douglas Park.
"This festival will attract a lot of people who might not have visited our part of the city before, and they will be able to see how beautiful the park is and just what this neighborhood has to offer. We love it here," Hamilton said. "We can only think that it will have a positive effect on our brewery. With music being a focus for us personally as well as professionally, who better to meet than other music-loving people?"
While Hamilton did not offer any specifics, she said Lagunitas would plan something special to celebrate the festival coming to the neighborhood.
According to the Riot Fest website, Cardenas said the community is looking forward to hosting the music festival.
“Music brings people of all different backgrounds together. It’s the melodies and lyrics that artists create that inspire us, motivate us, and maybe even more importantly, it provides a mixtape of important events in our lives,” Cardenas said on the website.
“From Woodstock to Riot Fest, it’s about unity and creating a positive community. It’s as American pie as you can get. We are excited that Riot Fest has honored us by selecting Douglas Park as its new home. More importantly, the community is thrilled to say ‘welcome’ to the over 150,000 fans, artists and staff that make Riot Fest possible," Cardenas said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
