The Chicago Bulls Engage Community At Bulls Fest

Bulls Fest. The Chicago Bulls.
Bulls Fest. The Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls Engage Community At Bulls Fest 

By Tia Carol Jones

On a warm Saturday morning, the sounds of basketballs bouncing could be heard at the United Center, not inside where the Chicago Bulls usually play, but outside where courts were set up for basketball tournaments as part of Bulls Fest. The two-day event took place on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23rd and 24th, and featured 3-on-3 tournaments for both men and women, ages 8 years old and up.

This is the third time the event, which was free to attend, took place. Last year, there were 1,500 people who attended. This year, there were close to 500 teams who registered for the 3-on-3 tournaments.

Adrienne Scherenzel, Vice President of Community Engagement for the Chicago Bulls, said the whole festival is based in community and a great way to unify people. She said as Chicago’s basketball team, it is important for the Bulls to celebrate the community and basketball in this way. She said making the event free to attend and making the registration for the tournament a reasonable price is a way to make the barrier to entry low and accessible to people in the community.

The Chicago Skyhawks is a junior wheelchair basketball team that operates out of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. They participated in the tournament. Scherenzel said it is important to also have them participate to ensure that everyone in the community is involved and able to be included in the tournament.

“This is so important for us to be on the West side, be in the community and be able to have people come out here and enjoy the sport of basketball, because it is just such a powerful sport that brings everyone together,” she said.

Scherenzel said families enjoy the event because there is something for everyone. She said the event is free, fun and safe and is one way where people in the community can have access to the Bulls. She said people from the city and suburbs and other parts of the country attended the event. She said basketball is a sport for everyone and the Bulls want to make sure everyone feels welcome.

Kyle Cummings, Director of Basketball Programming for the Chicago Bulls, said the fans are important, and are the culture and the heartbeat of the organization. He said along with the festival connecting people through the sport of basketball, it also highlights how basketball shows up off the court, in art, fashion and culture.

“We just want to create a safe and welcoming space for fans to come out, be here and feel like they’re a part of the Bulls family, with events like this,” he said. Cummings said it was really cool to see people playing basketball on the courts of the United Center. He said through the basketball clinics that took place during the weekend, more than a thousand young people would be able to engage with the sport of basketball.

Marvin Williams is the founder of A&D Basketball. Williams started the team in 2024 because his daughter played basketball and he wanted to get a good team of girls for her to surround herself with. Williams brought two teams to the Bulls Fest to compete in the 3 vs 3 tournament. He said he brought the girls, who are in fifth and sixth grade, for them to get the experience of competing in a 3 vs 3 tournament.

“I feel like it helps them with their game because it is a 3-on-3 instead of a 5-on-5, so everybody has to be working on their game and knowing the moves they have to make to get at basket. So, it opens up my player’s game, not only individually, but also as a team,” he said.

On Sunday, Aug. 24th, the basketball clinics, featuring Jud Buchler, Bill Cartwright, and Horace Grant, as well as a three-point challenge and meet and greets took place.

The Chicago Bulls first home game for the regular season is on Oct. 22nd and the  preseason starts on Oct. 7th.

For more information about the Chicago Bulls, visit www.nba.com/bulls.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Quandra-Urban Market Exchange