Summer Shade Brings Weekend of Family Fun

Eighth Annual Summer Shade Festival Brings a Weekend of Family Friendly Fun to Grant Park

By Carrie Whitney

Once again this August, the city's oldest park welcomes one of the city's best outdoor events.  The Eighth Annual Grant Park Summer Shade Festival means a weekend filled with art, live music, kid's activities, food and more for thousands of attendees.  Lucky neighborhood residents can walk to enjoy the festivities, which begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 28 and last all weekend.

The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival began in 2003 as the Adams Realtors 5K Run for the Park.  After a great first year welcoming 750 attendees, the event was expanded.  By 2009, Summer Shade boasted 22,000 festival goers during the two days!

Following the Adams 5K Run on Saturday, the festival opens with the Artist Market at 10 a.m.  Live entertainment revs up at 10 a.m. and the Family Fun Zone kicks off with fun for kids of all ages at 10 a.m.  More enjoyment will be had on Sunday when the festival opens at 11 a.m. and keeps going until 7:30 p.m.  Each year, foodies flock to the ticketed Corks & Forks event, which takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Summer Shade offers both a Juried and a Non-Juried Artist Market, displaying a variety of creative wares.  Check out glass blowers, photographers, jewelers, painters, potters and more, and head home with something really special.  There are more than 125 artists to choose from.

Live music and entertainment can be found on the Festival Stage, Stage in the Shade and the Gazebo Stage.  A full schedule can be previewed at www.summershade.org  

You can bring the whole family, but you'll have to have fun without your "best friend" at Summer Shade - city ordinance does not allow pets in festival areas where attendance is expected to be greater than 10,000.  APD and City Monitors will be onsite to enforce city ordinances, so please save your pet the embarrassment.  The ordinance does not apply to guide dogs or animals utilized by APD for public safety purposes.

A special thanks to all of our sponsors who, through their support, keep Summer Shade one of the coolest events the city has to offer.

The Eighth Annual Summer Shade Festival comes to Grant Park on Saturday and Sunday August 28 and 29.  For more information, visit www.summershade.org.