Join us for the Opening Celebration of the fifth annual Chicago Sukkah Design Festival! Visitors will experience the new crop of unique sukkahs for the first time and learn more about the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot. Over the course of the afternoon, attendees will enjoy food, art-making activities, participatory workshops, communal dance, and live music performances. Family friendly!
1:00–1:30 pm: Afrofuturist dance workshop, a participatory, communal experience led by Ytasha Womack, a critically acclaimed author, filmmaker, dancer, and champion of the imagination. Beats and grooves by DJ Shannon Harris.
1:00–4:00 pm: Lulav Workshop with the Jewish Museum of Chicago (JMC). Take part in an experimental lulav creation workshop utilizing recycled materials and plants native to Illinois. Participants will be invited to assemble a “local lulav” made with native plants, such as corn husk (palm), autumn leaves (myrtle), pussy willow (willow), and pumpkin (etrog). JMC volunteers will guide participants in braiding or weaving the dried plants together, intentionally selecting decorative materials in a range of colors and textures, and creating a distilled sukkot narrative using foam core stamps on strips of muslin.
1:00–4:00 pm: CCRx Imagination Station hosts hands-on artmaking. This mobile community program from the Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange (CCRx) and T.H.U.G. Hippie brings free, family-friendly activities that combine physical movement and creative reuse workshops to neighborhoods across Chicago’s South and West sides.
1:30-2:15 pm: Big Citi Band performance on the Boulevard.
2:15–3:00 pm: Tromblau &Friends performance and dancing. The Chicago music collective led by trombonist, composer, and DJ Emma Blau. The group blends original jazz, Jewish liturgical music, and Black American music traditions.
3:00–4:00 pm: Big Citi Band performance on the Boulevard.
4:00–4:15 pm: The Celestial Ministries Youth Drum Line, a North Lawndale music program that builds leadership and music skills for young people, will bring the beat and get the crowd ready to hoop and holler.
4:15–5:00 pm: Cake Walk with Ytasha Womack, plus more food, more movement, and more fun. End your day with a sweet treat if you land on the right number.