The African/Caribbean International Festival of Life has been denied a permit by the city of Chicago for the second year in a row, its organizers told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday.
The family-friendly celebration, now in its 33rd year, was scheduled to take place July 3-5 at Union Park in the West Loop. But according to its founder, Ephraim Martin, the Chicago Police Department could not provide enough officers to support the event.
The fest will now take place Sep. 26-27 in Union Park, in conjunction with another one of Martin’s events, the Jerk, Seafood & Vegan Fest.
Martin said the denial came April 17, even though he applied in November and received a conditional permit from the Chicago Park District. He also said Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office agreed to intervene, but he hasn’t heard back. His additional requests for assistance have gone unanswered this week amid the mayor’s trip to visit Pope Leo in Rome.
The event has its own security and has only drawn about 1,000 attendees each day since the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin said. So, he was baffled by the city’s decision. (By contrast, last weekend’s Forever Mine R&B music festival at Union Park sold 10,000 tickets across two days.)
“We don’t want to leave Chicago,” said Martin, a Jamaica native who operates the festival as part of his Martin’s International foundation. “But on the other hand, if it feels as if we are not welcome anymore, then we may have to do that. I know there are several cities that have been asking us to come, but we are not sure what we’re going to do.”
When asked for comment, the Chicago Police Department referred the Sun-Times to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which did not immediately respond.
Martin said he was told the police department could not accommodate another event in the West Loop during Fourth of July weekend, and suggested he change the date of the fest or move it to Washington Park on the South Side. Martin said he had a similar exchange with police last year, when the department rejected the festival’s permit for Park No. 540 on the Near South Side. First, the police department asked that he move the event to the street, and then suggested fest organizers transition to Washington Park, which Martin agreed to do.
“They claimed that our people would have created a traffic jam, and they didn’t have the resources to manage our crowd, and can’t deal with that in the South Loop,” Martin said.
He said he and his team lost over $100,000 due to the last-minute relocation.
“We were hoping that we would not have to go through this again, and here we are,” he said. “We’re still going to suffer a great loss, but in order to deliver for our stakeholders and the people, we have to accept it and combine both events [in September].”
The African/Caribbean International Festival of Life, which has been held in various locations over the years, unites nations through music and culture, Martin said. A central location like Union Park would accommodate the bulk of its attendees, who come from West Loop, the North Side and the North and West Suburbs, he said.