Telling Stories with the Fifth House Ensemble - Wednesday 9/26

This Wednesday, the 26th, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in the Humboldt Park Fieldhouse there will be an event with musical group, the Fifth House Ensemble. They'll be coming to the park to play music and gather stories from the audience in an interactive concert that's suited to all ages. After encouraging audience members to share their stories, the members of the group will spend the next few weeks writing songs that are inspired by them and return in November for a concert to play these songs. To see more about the Fifth House Ensemble and their performances, visit their website where you can watch videos and read more.

This should be a unique and creative event that blends music, dancing and socializing. As always, this event is free and open to everyone, and free, healthy snacks will be provided by Cermak Produce. So bring a friend or family member and come out on Wednesday to share Humboldt Park's stories with the Fifth House Ensemble and hear some live music.

Upcoming Events in Humboldt Park and Riot Fest

Some notable community events coming up in the next few days...as always, scroll to the bottom of the blog home page to see a complete calendar of events.

• This Saturday, September 22nd, is the "Walk for No Violence to a Better Way." This will include a walk from Division and Western to Division and Sacramento as a show of unity to end violence in the community, followed by a resource fair at the Humboldt Park Fieldhouse (1440 N. Sacramento Blvd.) that will have speakers and assistance for those who have been victims of violence. Everyone is welcome to walk for free but organizations are asked to pay a $30 donation registration fee. Everyone walking is asked to wear either a white t-shirt, a t-shirt with the event logo on it, or a shirt commemorating a friend or loved one lost to violence. To join the walk, meet at Division and Western before noon on Saturday, and find out more by joining the facebook event.

• This Monday, September 24th, the Bloomingdale Trail design team returns to the Humboldt Park Fieldhouse for a public meeting to share the latest progress on the trail design and hear input on how to integrate arts into the project. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the program begins at 6:00. Parking is available at the fieldhouse (1440 N. Sacramento Blvd.), but visitors are encouraged to walk, bike, or take public transit to the meeting. See the flyer below for more information.

Lastly...as many of you know (it was hard to miss) Riot Fest took place last weekend in Humboldt Park. This was the first year for the large, two-day outdoor concert to move into the park and based on the conversation at our meeting tonight, many of our members feel strongly that it was a well organized and executed event that cast the park in a positive light. We would like to thank the organizers for being actively involved in several Advisory Council meetings leading up to the festival, and for making a sincere effort to engage the community before holding such a major event in the park. We see this commitment from the organizers as a major reason why the event was a success, and were happy to see Riot Fest organizers allow local organizations to use the event as a fundraiser opportunity and hire a number of local youth to work as staff for the festival. 

SummerDance Tonight at the Boathouse

The SummerDance program returns to the Humboldt Park Boathouse (1359 N. Humboldt Blvd.) tonight for the final time this year. SummerDance is a popular event run by the Park District in parks across the city that combines dance instruction and live music. From 6 to 7 pm, there will be dance lessons from a professional instructor, and from 7 to 9 pm there will be live music and open dancing. Tonight's dance lesson will be the Puerto Rican Bomba and music will be provided by Bombazo: AfriCaribe, Buya & BomPleneras. The event is all ages and free, so bring your family and friends and enjoy one of the final outdoor events in the park while the weather is still nice.

Free Park Programs During the Teachers Union Strike & Riot Fest Jobs

As of now, there's no end in sight to the Teachers Union Strike and many families are looking for alternatives for childcare during the day. The Park District has responded by offering free daily programs for students at Humboldt Park, Eckhart Park and Lafollette Park. The programs run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for more information please contact any of these parks. Phone numbers can be found by following the links above. Other options for childcare are available from Chicago Public Schools through their Children First program. Please follow the link above to find out more information and locations that are participating in the program.

In other news...Riot Fest, a music festival that will take place in Humboldt Park on September 15-16, is looking to hire local community members to staff the event. The organizers will be holding a job fair tomorrow, Tuesday the 11th, at the Humboldt Park fieldhouse from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. They are focusing on hiring young people, and the basic requirements are:

• Age 16 to 25
• Healthy and able to lift at least 50 lbs.
• Reliable transportation to the event
• Able to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 11 p.m 

The pay is $10/hr and applications will be available at the job fair, as well as Riot Fest staff to answer any questions. Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested.