Beloved West Town Summer Festivals West Fest And Do Division Canceled Due To Coronavirus

WEST TOWN — The West Town Chamber of Commerce announced Monday it would cancel the neighborhood’s summer festivals due to the coronavirus outbreak.

West Fest Chicago, Do Division Street Fest and Chicago Brewing District’s Dancing in the Streets have all been canceled.

In lieu of the festivals, the chamber will restructure programming and marketing efforts to help West Town businesses “survive” the economic impacts of COVID-19, according to a statement.

The West Town decision comes two weeks after local leaders in South Shore canceled their summer festival. The Silver Room Block Party in Hyde Park has also been canceled.

In late March, commissioners of Special Service Area #42 voted unanimously to cancel South Shore Summer Fest. The commissioners agreed their $80,000 festival budget would be earmarked for an economic stimulus plan for the neighborhood.

Last week, Gov. JB Pritzker said he thought all large events planned for the summer should be canceled to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot didn’t go so far, saying it was “too soon” to make decisions for events that will happen in July and August.

In 2019, Do Division Street Fest took place May 31-June 2, West Fest Chicago took place July 5-7 and Dancing in the Streets took place Aug. 3-4.

Spokeswoman Kalli LeVasseur would not disclose how much money the chamber will save by canceling the festivals, and said they are still determining how the funds will be spent.

“We’ll be in touch with more information on those efforts once plans have been finalized,” she said.

Block Club has previously inquired about the budgets for summer festivals presented by the West Town Chamber of Commerce and the Wicker Park-Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

Chambers in both neighborhoods would not provide the information.

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Beloved West Town Summer Festivals West Fest And Do Division Canceled Due To Coronavirus

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