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Chicago's Favorite Street Festival  Photo: Israel Wright/outlineschicago.com |
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By Jean Latz Griffin
You can thank beer, water pistols and the Chicago Transit Authority for the fact that Northalsted Market Days -- which started 16 years ago as a simple sidewalk fair -- is now the largest two-day festival in Illinois and a major destination point for lesbigay and straight tourists from all over the world. The festival, which takes place in the most heavily gay area of the city, bedecked with rainbow and "We are Everywhere" flags, is sponsored by the Northalsted Area Merchants Association. It draws more than 300,000 people to fill the streets, sample crafts, eat food, buy merchandise, listen to music -- and of course, drink beer.
The history of Market Days is filled with typical Chicago lore. The story of the turning point from sidewalk fair into street festival goes like this. It was about the second or third year of the fair, and it was hot. A beer price war was going on amongst the mostly gay bars, so there were lots of folks on the street feeling really, really good. And, as Art Johnston remembers it, "someone discovered how much fun it was to have water pistols."
Bulls eye. The bus driver caught a shot to the side of the head. Was it water or something stronger? That is lost to history. But whatever it was, the driver panicked. He called the police and said there was a riot on Halsted Street. Paddy wagons showed up. People were cuffed and hauled off to jail. Merkle remembers a newspaper vendor who was standing on the sidewalk in front of his own store was even arrested. The "armed" and blitzed folks still left on the street went to the aid of their fallen comrades. "Crowds with water pistols attacked the police station," remembers Johnston, who declined to say whether there was a pistol in his hand. "We were screaming, 'Set our people free!' After much negotiation, raising bail and all that, those who were arrested were released."
The very next year, Halsted Street was closed for the fair. All of a sudden, Johnston and Merkle recall, it seemed like a really good idea to the same city officials who had objected before. Closing the street allowed for a larger, more user-friendly festival. And, in an example of how far both the city and Chicago's lesbigay community have come, this year Halsted Street will show festival-goers a $3.2 million upgrading and beautification program, compliments the City of Chicago. The renovation and beautification has become a source of intense pride in the neighborhood and a trigger for even more renovations. The upgrading includes new sewers, wider sidewalks, new gratings, the first trees ever planted on the street, wrought iron planters with flowers, and of course, The Rainbow Pylons. The now famous bronze pylons, more than 10 feet high with rainbow circles, were constructed by the City as an official designation of Chicago's most prominent lesbigay neighborhood.
Dave Edwards, president of the Northalsted Area Merchants Association and owner of two gay bars, Gentry of Chicago and Gentry on Halsted, said the publicity about the rainbow pylons is already drawing more tourists and will likely boost attendance at Market Days. "Chicago is the first city anywhere in the world where this type of thing has been done recognizing the gay and lesbian community," Edwards said. "We are very grateful for that and want to make sure the street remains successful." The idea for the Market Days fair was born when about six business owners got together in the late 1970s and started talking about forming a merchant's association, "to showcase the street and put it on the map," Merkle said. At that time, Halsted Street was considered the poor stepchild of Belmont, Broadway, Clark and Sheffield, sort of a rag-tag no-man's land. "We were kind of the outcasts, lots of artists, gay people and at that time, what were considered those evil, evil vegetarians," Johnston said. "Lots of people didn't want to deal with Halsted because they thought there were too many gay people."
"I remember one midnight on a Sunday night, the fair was over and we were cleaning up," Merkle said. "We were sweeping the streets and schlepping back booths and tables and everything. Finally it just got to be too much work for volunteers and we hired Chicago Festival Events to manage it. We pay them a fee and they recruit bands and sponsors and all of that." The fair still tries to have as many artists as possible who are showing and selling their own work, Merkle said. As an incentive, such artists are given a special rate on the booths. Among the bands performing this year at the festival are BETTY, Greazy Meal, World Class Noise and Wright Walleys. LesBiGay Radio AM 750 will present "A Dance Party," featuring Doug Wood, Rick Beech, Honey West and Pussy Tourette. Q101 will host an International Academy of Design Fashion Show. The three stages will be at Belmont, Roscoe and Addison. More information on the event can be obtained on the Chicago Festival Events website, www.chicagoevents.com, by calling 773:868-3010, or by visiting the Northalsted Area Merchants Association website at www.northalsted.com, or office at 3710 N. Halsted, Chicago. Jean Latz Griffin is a free-lance writer and former Chicago Tribune reporter who has written extensively about gay and lesbian issues. |
Market Days banner and both rainbow pride and "We are
everywhere" flags line North Halsted Street. 
The famouse bronze pylons outside Chicago's Sidetrack 
Photo: Israel
Wright/
© 1997-99 BEI