Ravenswood ArtWalk this weekend (2017)

Fresh off the Girls Nite Out event in Elmhurst, I am busy prepping for the Ravenswood ArtWalk. Ravenswood ArtWalk is celebrating its 16th anniversary, once again bringing hundreds of artists into the community and filling the street with art, music, great food and local craft beer. The 2017 Ravenswood ArtWalk takes place on Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17 along Ravenswood Avenue between Irving Park and Leland, from 11 AM – 6 PM.

I’ll be setting up in the Hayes Building, located at 4043 N Ravenswood, just down the street from the outdoor portion of the festival (on the east side of the tracks). You can stroll the outdoor market, beer garden, live music, food trucks and children’s activities at Ravenswood Ave and Berteau, and then meander into our building.

The ArtWalk features more than 300 artists and 50 venues, while placing special focus on the diverse talents of the Ravenswood Corridor. Attractions for this year include a rooftop party at the Airstream building, tours of the All Saints’ bell tower, free group dance lessons, a peak at specimens from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum archives, kids’ building projects from Bit Space and a public installation from local artist Dana Parisi.

All businesses are open from 11-6PM. At the center of the festival is the outdoor RAW Street Fest, which features two stages of live music, artists in tents, Begyle Brewing’s craft beer garden, a food truck roundup and children’s activities.

Participating venues include:

• Manz Building (Multiple Attractions!)
• Ballroom Dance Chicago
• Hayes Properties Marketplace (me and a few other artists!)
• Thresholds
• RAW Street Fest
• Deagan Building (Multiple Venues!)
• Mathias Spider Schergen’s Garage Gallery
• Lillstreet Art Center
• Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church
• Beyond Design

• DEFY MFG Co
• Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores
• John Roggari Studio
• CHEX Studio
• Wellbeing Personalized Healthcare
• All Saints’ Episcopal Church
• Bill Bartelt Watercolors
• Images Gallery Cooperative
• 4500 Artists

• Alternative Schools Network (Airstream Building)
• Blackbird Gallery & Framing
• Manifold
• Tam Wim
• Platform Coworking Pop-Up Market (where I used to have a spot)
• Viva Vintage Clothing
• a. favorite design
• Dovetail Brewery
• Begyle Brewing Co.

It is the ArtWalk’s mission to generate community investment in, and public awareness of, the unique hub of creative industry that exists in Ravenswood. You can share your impressions of the weekend with: #RAW2017 on social media.

The Ravenswood ArtWalk is easily accessible by Public Transit: CTA Brown Line: Montrose – Irving Park | CTA Bus: Ashland – Damen – Irving Park- Montrose | Divvy | Metra: Ravenswood Station.

As you can see, fair prep includes tagging new pieces, ensuring I have enough necklace cords of varying lengths to go with my pendants, reviewing the art fair instructions and checking off the items I need to bring along!