Chicago’s Printer’s Row and Glenwood Avenue Arts Festivals Draw More Than 250 Artists, Live Music and Free Weekend Crowds Across the South Loop and Rogers Park

CHICAGO, IL — Chicago’s weekend arts scene split between two neighborhood festivals, with the Printer’s Row Art Fest in the South Loop and the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival in Rogers Park both offering free entertainment.

Between the two events, visitors found paintings, sculpture, photography, live performances and food, turning two corners of the city into open-air cultural hubs.

Printer’s Row leans into art, music and a big local crowd

The Printer’s Row Art Fest is in its sixth year and is held near Dearborn and Polk streets. Organizers said the event brings together more than 100 artists, from painters and photographers to sculptors and other makers.

The festival also includes live music throughout the day. This year’s poster featured acrylic painter Jonah Ballard, whose pink-heavy work is inspired by desert scenes and dreams, while Dallas-based artist Dane Shue showed mixed-media pop portraits of figures including Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Mae Jemison, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Andy Warhol.

Justin Laken, communications manager for Amdur Productions, said the festival adds food and festival bars alongside the art. The music lineup included Miss Philly, WestEnd 40 and the Tim Gant Project.

Rogers Park marks 25 years with art, dance and neighborhood history

Across town, the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival celebrated its 25th year near Morse and Glenwood avenues. The free event featured work from more than 150 artists and performances from more than 25 music and dance acts.

Its two stages nod to vanished neighborhood landmarks. The Heartland Stage is named for the late Heartland Café, while the Morseland Stage honors the former Morseland music venue nearby.

Sunday’s roster ranged from singer-songwriter Gillian McGhee’s band Hi Ho to cabaret-inspired power pop group Tennis Court Oath and Latin folk fusion act Son Monarcas. At the Morseland Stage, the schedule included Miss Amy Leigh, Ester, Brettly, Spaceracer and ktwheels.

Both festivals stayed free through Sunday afternoon and evening

The Printer’s Row festival was scheduled to run until 5 p.m. Sunday, while the Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival continued until 7 p.m. Sunday.

For Chicagoans and visitors, the setup meant a full weekend of neighborhood-scale art, music and community gathering without an admission fee. The two festivals also showed how local organizers can turn familiar streets into temporary stages for a wide mix of artists.

Chicago's music scene, one story at a time — Chicago Music Guide.