LINCOLN PARK — A North Side business owner has started an online petition urging changes to the upcoming Mayfest, saying the event’s organizer punished him for not buying a booth at last year’s festival.
The petition from Adam Kamin asks Mayfest organizer Star Events to find alternative locations for generators, fences and restrooms so they don’t block pedestrian traffic or storefront access, as well as to compensate local businesses for “any loss of revenue or inconvenience caused by the festival’s setup and operation.” Mayfest this year is on Armitage Avenue between Sheffield and Racine avenues.
“My two main issues really boil down to them intentionally hurting small businesses and the extortive tactics they used when I decided not to buy a booth last year,” said Kamin, who owns Off Premise, a specialty beer, wine and liquor store at 1128 W. Armitage Ave.
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In March 2023, a representative from Star Events stopped in and asked Kamin if he would be interested in buying a booth for the May event at a 20 percent discount, Kamin said.
Prices for vendors at this year’s Mayfest range from $395 for nonprofits to $2,495 for food vendors, according to Star Events’ website.
Kamin said when he declined the offer, the Star Events representative told him fest organizers would block the entrance to his store. Kamin saw this as a threat, he said.
When asked about Kamin’s claim, Star Events CEO John Barry said his company’s events never block storefront access and denied that Kamin’s business was somehow punished for not participating.
“Out of courtesy and to increase local involvement, we make every effort to invite the shops at every venue to participate,” Barry said. “We have a few vendors that take us up on the offer to promote their business and support the local charities and the event itself.”
During the street fest, Star Events installed a large generator on the street in front of Off Premise, with fencing around the event footprint, Kamin said. The generator blocked the view of Kamin’s store from the street and made it difficult for customers to enter, he said.
“There was this huge generator blowing exhaust into our establishment,” Kamin said.
During the weekend festival, Kamin kept Off Premise open for pickup orders only and sold a limited amount of product at his own table in front of his store.
Sales were “average” at last year’s event, he said.
Given some of the organizer’s “combative” tactics Kamin felt were directed his way, he decided to start the petition to vocalize concerns he and other business owners have, he said.
“I think the biggest frustration we have is the lack of businesses that participate in the festival [and] are actually from the neighborhood,” Kamin said. “This year, I knew there would be no recourse and they’d be able to do what they want.”
As of Monday morning, Kamin’s petition had nearly 250 signatures.
Formerly a parking lot block party in Lakeview, Mayfest moved to Armitage Avenue in 2022. Street festivals like Mayfest bring thousands of people to a neighborhood, and for local businesses that means potential new customers.
This year, Mayfest will feature up to 100 booths, 90 percent of which are local artisans, Barry said.
When asked about Kamin’s concerns in the petition, Barry said Star Events has been transparent in its communication with business owners and has come up with alternative solutions to some of the issues raised.
“There won’t be any generators on the main street this year,” Barry said. “We’re moving them to the side street, where they typically are. We had some problems making our distribution and electric and other things work in the past.”
Dumpsters and portable restrooms will also be on a side street, as they were last year, Barry said.
As far as Kamin’s request for compensation for losses, Barry said it would be “unheard of” for an events team to reimburse a business for losses attributed to a street festival.
“When I look at the petition and the four demands he’s asking for — alternative solutions, transparent communication and long-term planning, we’ve always done those three. Compensation for losses, that’s unheard of and that’s never going to be something that you can ever pull off or do,” Barry said.
Barry said a “majority” of the business community around Mayfest benefits from the increased exposure that the event brings, “but yes, a dry cleaner will probably not have a gangbuster weekend because the street’s closed. That’s the case for roughly 400 street festivals that take place in Chicago.”
Star Events, which has had contracts to organize other street festivals like Taste of Randolph in the West Loop and Midsommarfest in Andersonville, has been at the center of controversy over selling tickets to free events last year where donations were optional, according to online posts reviewed by Block Club Chicago.
Star Events was required to change its language online ahead of last year’s Taste of Randolph after the company presold tickets online and advertised that fest admission was $10 when in fact it was free.
In September, Star Events and the West Loop Community Organization cut ties as both groups faced criticism for how organizers collected donations at Taste of Randolph.
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