Those looking for a festival that will bring the house down, the Chosen Few Picnic Weekend is for you. Nicknamed the “Woodstock of House Music,” this festival is marking its 25th year celebrating Chicago’s homegrown dance genre.
The centerpiece of the four-day festival will be on the Fourth of July, when the Chosen Few Old School Reunion Picnic will be held in Jackson Park on the city’s South Side. While starting as a small get together amongst friends from the earliest days of house music, the event has grown into one of the largest house music festivals in the world, attracting over 40,000 people per year.
Saturday will feature performances from the Chosen Few themselves along with Stephanie Mills, Evelyn “Champagne” King and Cory Daye, plus guest DJs Masters At Work duo Louie Vega and Kenny Dope Gonzalez, Derrick Carter, Stan Zeff, Keith Fobs and Greg Gray.
For those who can’t make it to the main event, the group will kick off festivities Thursday night with a show at Promontory Point, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave., in Hyde Park. Doors open at 8 p.m. with the cover being $10 before 10 p.m. and $15 after.
Saturday night will feature two after parties featuring the Chosen Few, one on the North Side at Smartbar, 3730 N. Clark St., in Wrigleyville, and one on the South Side at the Hebrew Culture Center, 7130 S. South Chicago Ave. in Greater Grand Crossing. The doors open at 10 p.m. for both.
Sunday will feature a sendoff until next year at evilOlive, 1551 W. Division St. in Wicker Park, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tickets for Saturday are still on sale with prices starting at $25 per person. Children under the age of 12 gain free admission. For more information, visit chosenfewdjs.com.
