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.