Venue Address (Get Directions)

Date and Time

Sunday, June 7th, 2020

7:00pm

RSVP

Details

After weeks of speculation over the fate of some of Chicago’s biggest summer festivals, the official word arrived Tuesday morning.

Out of an abundance of caution and adhering to state-mandated stay-at-home guidelines and social distancing guidelines from the CDC, the following events have been canceled according to the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE):

4th annual Chicago House Music Conference & Festival, May 21–24, various venues
Chicago’s Memorial Day Parade and Wreath Laying Ceremony, May 23
35th Chicago Gospel Music Festival, May 27–30 in Millennium Park and the Chicago Cultural Center
37th annual Chicago Blues Festival, June 5-7 in Millennium Park
Also canceled is the new 18-day “Chicago In Tune” citywide celebration (May 21–June 7), which was billed as “the signature program” for the Year of Chicago Music initiative.

“These cancellations are disappointing to all of us here in Chicago, particularly for the countless individuals who worked so hard to organize an extraordinary Year of Chicago Music,” said Mayor Lightfoot in the official announcement.

The mayor added that the official Year of Chicago Music celebration slated for 2020 will continue into 2021 due to the cancellations.

“As upsetting as it is to remove these events from our calendar, we are already looking forward to next year where we’ll be pulling out all the stops for a festival season Chicago will never forget,” Lightfoot said.

Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker was clearly on the side of canceling all large gatherings in Chicago and across the state this summer.

“I think everybody needs to think seriously about canceling any large summer events,” Pritzker said during a press conference. “I just don’t, from my perspective today, I do not see how we are going to have large gatherings of people again until we have a vaccine, which is months and months away. ... [I] would not risk having large groups of people getting together, anywhere. And I think that’s hard for everybody to hear. But that’s just a fact.”