Riot Fest will once again take over Chicago’s Douglass Park in September.
On Wednesday, the Chicago Park District voted unanimously to pass the $705,000 provisional permit for the festival.
Close to 50,000 people are expected in the North Lawndale community when the festival takes place September 15- 17. Headlining acts this year will include The Cure, Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age.
While the event is expected to draw in huge crowds, people in the neighborhoods surrounding the park say they don’t want it to happen there anymore.
Riot Fest has been held at the park for the last eight years but people have complained and say the millions made on the event doesn’t get reinvested into the community.
Community members have also complained about the conditions Douglass Park facilities are left in after the fest is over.
Some also have issues with the noise a large festival like Riot Fest can bring to the neighborhood. Some people say this type of festival with its noise and parking issues so close to Mount Sinai Hospital — which is a Level 1 trauma center— causes issues for the hospital.
Riot Fest organizers have agreed to turning speakers away from hospitals and homes and utilize parking lots further away from the hospitals.
But some community members say these changes aren’t enough.
Riot Fest Single-Day, 2-Day, and 3-Day Passes are available for purchase here.
