Explore the neighborhood parks hosting pop-up performances in Summer 2023:
Piotrowski Park IN Little Village
Piotrowski Park Cultural Center is located in the South Lawndale community, often called Little Village. Named to honor lifelong neighborhood resident Lillian Piotrowski, the 24-acre park features a convertible domed pool, a gymnasium, and fitness center. Little Village is deeply invested in arts, music, and culture, and is known for its beautiful murals and bold “Bienvenidos a Little Village” arch that stretches over the entrance to the neighborhood. Every year, Little Village hosts the music festival Villapalooza, Chicago’s most popular grassroots music festival. Villapalooza was created in 2011 as a non-violent space for arts and entertainment and continues to be free of charge.
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Columbus Park IN AUSTIN
Columbus Park is a 140-acre historic park located in the Austin community. The park is considered the masterpiece of landscape architect Jens Jensen, and is one of the few parks in the nation to be designated a National Historic Landmark in its entirety. Visitors enjoy a bicycle path, an outdoor swimming pool, a fishing lagoon, baseball fields, basketball courts, and more. Columbus Park is especially known for the beautiful Refectory Building, a popular destination for weddings and special events in South Austin.
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BLACKHAWK Park IN HERMOSA & Belmont Cragin
Located between the Hermosa neighborhood (which means “beautiful” in Spanish) and the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, the area around Blackhawk Park is one of Chicago’s most densely populated and culturally vibrant residential neighborhoods. The park was created by the Northwest Park District in 1922, before becoming a part of the Chicago Park District in 1934, and was named to honor the 86th Division, a World War I Army unit known as the Blackhawk Division of the Allied Expeditionary Force. Composed of volunteers and draftees from Illinois, the Division took its name from the Sac Chief Black Hawk. Today, Blackhawk Park offers a quarter-mile walking path, two junior baseball fields, a softball field, a combination football/soccer field, five tennis courts, a basketball court, plus a playground with a spray pool.
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West Pullman Park IN WEST PULLMAN
Summer 2020 would have marked Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks’ first-ever performance in West Pullman Park. This 16-acre park in the heart of Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood offers the Park Kids after school program, seasonal sports, Therapeutic Recreation, arts & crafts, senior club, and Track E Break Camps. It also has a unique green feature: a natural savanna. The park is one of Chicago’s few remaining native landscapes, with oak, hickory, and cherry trees covering an ancient river bank.
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Ogden Park IN ENGLEWOOD
Located in the Englewood community, Ogden Park totals 61 acres and features three playgrounds, a carousel, walking track, swimming pool, baseball diamonds, and basketball/tennis courts. It also has a special green amenity—a nature garden featuring native plants and trees. Ogden was one of ten revolutionary parks created in 1905 to provide relief to Chicago's overcrowded tenement districts. Offering a variety of valuable recreational, educational, and social services to their surrounding communities, these ten properties soon influenced the development of other parks throughout the nation.
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Ping Tom Memorial Park IN Chinatown
Ping Tom Memorial Park’s 12-acre site was originally a railroad yard that has been transformed into a beautiful rolling green space with impressive river views. The park features a boathouse, playground, fieldhouse with a gymnasium and swimming pool, and distinctive Chinese landscape design elements. The park is named after noted civic leader Ping Tom, who advocated at the city and state level for the importance of giving the children in Chinatown access to a safe and accessible recreational area.
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