The Hyde Park Summer Fest Rooted in Culture and Community

Danielle Sanders Contributing Writer

hat started in a parking lot in the Hyde Park neighborhood has grown to an event attended by more than thirty thousand people. For over seven years, the Hyde Park Summer Fest (HPSF) brings together artists, local brands, and the neighborhood to enjoy a weekend filled with music, community, and a celebration of Chicago culture. Over the years, the festival has grown and evolved. This year the Hyde Park Summerfest is being held at the Midway Plaisance to accommodate its growing attendance. This year’s festival takes place June 17-18th and features a star-studded lineup, including Tobe Nwigwe, Robert Glasper, Uncle Waffles, Terry Hunter, Alex Isley and more. This year’s festival also celebrates #HipHop50 with some of the genre’s brightest stars from Chicago featuring Vic Mensa, Twista, Shawnna, Crucial Conflict and Do or Die. The iconic hip hop duo, Clipse also reunites at this year’s festival for a special performance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip hop.

“As a Black-owned festival, it’s important for us to create a welcoming, inclusive space for our neighbors and business owners to celebrate Chicago culture through music and food while honoring hip-hop’s impact on the world,” said Jonathan Swain, founder of Hyde Park Summer Fest.

For many, the Hyde Park Summerfest serves as the unofficial kickoff to #summertimechi on the Southside of Chicago. Co-founders, Jonathan Swain, and Dave Jeff along with Nosa Ehimwenman, President & CEO of BOWA Construction sat down with CNW Weekly to discuss this year’s festival, it’s evolution and why the festival remains committed to the neighborhood and the community.

The Hyde Park Summerfest returned in 2022 after a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival returned with a new name, new location and for the first time, the festival charged attendees to enter. Initially the response was mixed with some questioning if the festival would still maintain its neighborhood party vibes with a new location and ticketing structure. Co-Founder, Dave Jeff says he felt the support from the community even with the changes. “We’ve taken this from a street fest to a festival. Those who have supported us over the years continue applauding the growth.”

2022’s was one for the books with epic performances by DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ashanti, Busta Rhymes, Lucky Daye, Marshia Ambrosius, Lupe Fiasco and more. The new location, midway Plaisance, was more spacious, allowing attendees plenty of room to dance, enjoy the music, shop, and eat. Throughout the festival were new activations and plenty of “Instagram-able moments”.

WCo-Founder and entrepreneur Jonathan Swain said, “The overwhelming response last year was great. People were excited about having an opportunity to celebrate community and enjoy top quality musical talent on the Southside of Chicago”.

This year’s festival comes in the midst of construction in the area for the new Obama Presidential Center. The HPSF team took that into consideration in planning the logistics for this year’s festival. In addition, the team also listened to feedback from festival attendees and added new additions to this year’ festival along with many improvements.

Summerfest 2023 will have improved points of entry. There will be multiple general admission entry points and a separate VIP and GA+ entry point. In addition, the site is oriented so festival attendees can enter via the western end of the midway, away from the Obama Center construction area. Organizers encourage attendees to use public transportation or rideshare services. Beach towels, ponchos, and foldable chairs in bags are permitted but are subject to security screening. Outside food, drinks, umbrellas, coolers, and large carts are not allowed. For a full list of permitted items, visit their website.

Festival organizers say they grow from listening to the community and from listening to those who regularly attend the festival each year. Swain says, “Attendees said they wanted to see local talent highlighted more at the festival. “ This year, the HPSF added two additional stages and will host a local music showcase to highlight more local talent.

“We definitely listened, heard what they said and answered the call from our people to include more local talent. We want everyone to understand that this festival is inclusive,” says co-founder Dave Jeff

When the Summerfest returned in 2022, many balked at the idea of paying for entry, however, festival co-founders Swain and Jeff strongly felt the need to make sure this annual event gave something back to community. “Business is not solely about padding your pocket. It’s about creating an economy for those you care about,” Swain says. The festival hires residents from the community, uses a majority of small black and brown owned businesses as food and merchant vendors and takes a share of the festival proceeds to donate to local public schools in the community. In 2022, Hyde Park Summer Fest donated $75,000 in proceeds to five area high schools, created nearly 200 temporary jobs in the community, and encouraged participation from over 50 local small businesses. They expect to surpass these numbers in 2023.

In other neighborhoods there is talk of getting rid of certain festivals. Community residents feel that some neighborhood festivals do nothing but take resources and space away from community members without investing in those same communities. With festivals such as “Riot Fest”, held in Douglas Park, receiving community pushback from residents on the Westside, The Hyde Park Summer Fest, a Black Owned and operated music festival continues to receive community and neighborhood support. A fact that festival organizers say is rooted in their commitment to community first. Swain says, “In the midst of doing all of the financial and economic stuff, we realized there has to be a philanthropic side because business drives a lot of philanthropy, especially in the black community.”

That’s where Nosa Ehimwenman, President and CEO of BOWA Construction enters the picture.

Ehimwenman says partnering with Swain and Jeff was an extension of the work he does with his construction company. “It’s about economic impact and driving what we do every day in business to positively impact the community. It is how we connect economic development and construction to social impact and a community, creating a pipeline with our youth though architecture, engineering, and construction and now through art and music.

He continued, stressing that the festival is more than producing a high-quality event, it’s about leaving something better to the community. “Our initial involvement centered around how we can inject financial resources that are going to impact this festival by bringing top-quality, award-winning artists and putting together a great production. It doesn’t end there, however, Ehimwenman continued. “Afterwards, when everyone goes away, the economics of what we brought into the community can facilitate and filter into the south side.

It’s what the Chicago mainstream media doesn’t want you to see. With so much chatter in the media about public safety and how Black people gather, particularly in summertime, the Hyde Park Summer Fest is one of a few Black owned and operated music festivals in the city. Although rarely reported by the mainstream, each year the festival is attended by thousands and has remained violence and incident free since its inception. Dave Jeff says the festival remains a space of safety and black joy because of the positive energy they bring to the curation of this event.

“We owe our community everything. We just mirror goodness. I call it staying in the good. We live by that and that is what I believe is returned to us each year by those who attend this event”-Hyde Park Summerfest co-founder, Dave Jeff.

Nosa Ehimwenman believes staying true to their foundation allows the festival to stay rooted in the culture. “Whenever you create the right culture and develop it, that creates a good brand.

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...the festival is more than producing a high-quality event, it’s about leaving something better to the community.

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