Riot Fest’s “Beyond the Fest” is designed to help Riot Fest be a more conscientious and participatory member of the local community where Riot Fest is held. It ensures that Riot Fest gives back to the community, but also that they keep the local community involved. A local contest was held in Chicago and three local acts were added to the Riot Fest lineup: hip-hop artist 1300cadoe was added for Friday; indie group Future Nobodies were added for Saturday, and hardcore band Through n Through were added for Sunday.
In addition, Riot Fest held two vendor workshops as part of the initiative where they trained entrepreneurs in things like food safety, sanitation, equipment handling, and more. Of the 29 local businesses that attended the workshops, 10 were given free spots at Riot Fest for this year. “I love serving our community, but I am very excited to take the skills I learned and expand to the next level, serving my ices to even more Chicagoans,” says Eric Lindsay of Lindsay Italian Ice, one of the local businesses included in the vendor workshops.
There was also clinic with local Major League Baseball team the Chicago White Sox which was held on August 20.
Riot Fest has promised more announcements about the initative in the coming weeks, and you can read about them here.
Photo courtesy of Riot Fest
