Date: 
Fri, 08/14/2020 - 6:00pm to Sun, 08/16/2020 - 6:00pm

The popular Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest (GAAF) returns to Rogers Park for its 19th year in a new format to comply with COVID-19 safety guidelines prohibiting large public gatherings. This year on Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16, 2020, the festival becomes the Glenwood Avenue (Mobile) Arts Fest, taking place as four two-hour tours of the streets of Rogers Park surrounding the Glenwood Avenue Arts District at Glenwood and Morse Avenues.

Local musicians including the Urban Rhythm Band and the Joyce Renee Walker Band will perform live on a mobile stage along with large-scale video screens showcasing GAAF artists’ works, which will be available in “booths” in a corresponding virtual festival. Brief stops along the GAAF mobile tour routes will allow residents to enjoy art and music at a safe distance along the sidewalks and from the windows of their homes. The festival encourages the community to support local artists and businesses within the Glenwood Avenue Arts District in Rogers Park.

The Glenwood Avenue (Mobile) Arts Fest takes place on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. and Sunday, August 16 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Chicago Bluesmobile will travel the festival route on Friday, Aug. 14 from 6-9 p.m. for a festive kickoff. Festival tour maps and the virtual festival layout linking to artists’ booths will be available by Monday, Aug. 10 at www.glenwoodave.org.

The Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest is a free, weekend-long street arts fair usually enjoyed by an estimated 15,000 visitors annually. GAAF has included more than 120 artist-vendors and two outdoor stages featuring more than 30 acts of live entertainment. For nearly two decades, visitors have experienced fine art and crafts, music, live demonstrations, and local food and drink on the cobblestone streets of the Glenwood Avenue Arts District in Chicago’s historic Rogers Park neighborhood.

GAAF is presented by the Glenwood Avenue Arts District, with support from Clark/Morse/Glenwood Special Service Area #24, Morse Fresh Market, Cagan Management Group, Al Goldberg Real Estate LLC, Chicago Condo Management & Maintenance Co, J.B. Alberto’s Pizza, Sweet Home Properties, Lifeline Theatre, Rogers Park Builders Group and the nonprofit Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Glenwood Avenue Arts District features artist studios, music venues, and numerous restaurants and bars. It is located in the heart of the Rogers Park neighborhood, which is also well known for its theaters, including Lifeline Theatre, The Factory Theater and Theatre Above the Law, which make up one of the city’s hottest theater corridors. Presented by Glenwood Avenue Arts District, Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest is a broad-based, grassroots and non-profit event planned and staffed by volunteers.

Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) is a nonprofit organization that has served Chicago’s diverse Rogers Park neighborhood for more than 25 years. RPBA works to cultivate and sustain a thriving economic environment in Rogers Park, serving businesses and residents with a variety of public events and business initiatives. RPBA programs include the GROW/PROGRESANDO entrepreneurial training program, annual Best of Rogers Park awards, Chalk Howard Street and Taste of Clark Street festivals, and the Glenwood Sunday Market farmers market. For more information, visit RPBA.org.