Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival (GAAF)

Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival

The Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest (GAAF) is a free, weekend-long arts festival that features 120+ artists, open studios and live entertainment on two outdoor stages. Experience art of all disciplines, including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass, textile, metal, mixed media and functional art in addition to music, theater, food and drink. Each booth displays hand-made work by the artist, giving attendees a unique opportunity to purchase original artwork directly from the artist. Mass-produced merchandise is not permitted. 

Enjoy the Cobblestone Jam Friday, August 20 from 6-10 p.m.
Enjoy the Street Festival and Artists' Market Saturday, August 21 from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. & Sunday, August 22 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Live music on Saturday, headlined by White Mystery, and Tamarie T. & Thee Elektra Kumpany, and on Sunday, headlined by Plastic Crimewave Syndicate, and Funkadesi. Other confirmed bands are Amazing Heeby Jeebies, Beats y Bateria, Bev Rage & the Drinks, Bianca Shaw, Bones Jugs, Cass Cwik, Clickbait, Coyote Man, Duke Davenport, Monarchy Over Monday, Osmium House, Ovef Ow, Son Monarcas, Sonic Octopus, The Polkaholics, Tierra Roja, Tinkerbelles, Tommy Carroll, and Wild Earp.

The festival will host two craft beer stations, one by the West Stage featuring Empirical Brewery, and the other by the East Stage featuring Sketchbook Brewery. Rogers Park Social will be hosting a beer station in front of its location at 6920 N. Glenwood Ave. Food vendors include Badou Senegalese Cuisine, Black Dog Gelato, JB Albertos Pizza, Smack Dab, Taqueria Dona Balbis, and Urban Tables.
 
The festival will feature a KidFest Area, with free hands-on art activities for kids provided by the International Arts Group, sponsored by Morse Fresh Market.
 
There will be a live art demonstration area Outrageous[AB1]  Open Arts, featuring performance arts and artists demonstrating techniques and works-in-progress at Lunt and Glenwood Avenues, beneath the CTA tracks. Sponsored by Code Create Art and Science. Saturday programming includes 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., enamel arts demo by Leslie Perrino; 2-4 p.m., music performance by Heritage Jazz Orchestra, a 16 piece jazz big band sponsored by Le Piano, which also offers live music indoors every evening of the festival; 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m., Ewa Clark from Whimsical Creations, enamel arts demo by Kathryn Kiel, and European swordplay by Chicago Swordplay Guild. Sunday programming includes 11 am-1:30 p.m., poetry by Chicago Labor & Art Collective, 2 - 5 pm, “Traverse, An Animatronic Puppet Show & Workshop” by Code Create Art and Science. 5:30 - 7 pm, Ewa Clark from Whimsical Creations.
 
To ensure public safety, the festival will comply with COVID-19 guidelines applicable. Specific safety protocols will be announced prior to the festival, based on the most current public health guidelines.
 
GAAF is presented by the Glenwood Avenue Arts District, with additional support by Chicago Presents, a program of Mayor Lightfoot’s #Arts77 – a citywide arts recovery and reopening plan for all of Chicago’s 77 community areas and the nonprofit Rogers Park Business Alliance. The GAAF 2021 planning committee is Gregory Altman, Mary Bao, Diana Berek, Jeff Cory, Jim Ginderske, Alan J. Goldberg, Alicia Hempfling, Carolina Juarez, Jessica Oloroso and Tom Rosenfeld.

More information here.