Annual 79th Street Renaissance Festival Expands to Two Days

Annual 79th Street Renaissance Festival Expands to Two Days

The 79th Street Renaissance Festival is undergoing a renaissance of its own this year. For the first time the annual festival will be two days. Always the first weekend after Labor Day, it continues to grow larger every year.

Enjoyed by thousands of families, the festival was started 12 years ago to showcase area businesses and services in the Auburn Gresham community.

“We wanted to have a community expo where residents would have a good time, but to highlight the products and services on the South Side of Chicago and provide people with information and resources to improve the quality of their lives,” explains Cheryl Johnson, a community development consultant for the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation.

In addition to local businesses and organizations, the festival organizers will have experts in housing, health, education and economic development available to answer questions for adults. For young people there will be a kids corner featuring a petting zoo, the Jesse White Tumblers, the Nation of Islam drill team and musical performers spanning the diaspora from Gospel and Jazz to House and Hip-Hop.

“Even in the kids corner, we have a local dentist who’ll clean students’ teeth and we plan to feed brunch to over 500 seniors,” adds Johnson.

On Sunday, the Hot Mix 5 will play House Music all day. Previous attendance has reached nearly 15,000 and more are expected over the two-days. The 79th Street festival runs between Racine and Loomis and will take place from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

For more information, call the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp. at 773-723-3557 or visit www.gadc.org.

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