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CHICAGO (WLS) — The Taste of Chicago is moving to September this year, the city announced Monday.
The Taste of Chicago will return to Grant Park but will now be held on Sept. 8 to 10, 2023, in addition to three neighborhood events throughout the summer, according to a summer festival and events calendar released by the city.
The iconic Chicago event historically takes place in early July. But this year, the NASCAR street race will be held in Grant Park on July 1-2, 2023.
Alderman Brendan Reilly, whose 42nd Ward includes Navy Pier and parts of Grant Park, had requested a delay in approving the city’s summer events schedule last week.
This is a breaking news story. Previous reporting is below.
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“We just learned Taste of Chicago is the same weekend as NASCAR. Taste of Chicago occurs in the middle of Grant Park. You can’t access it when there’s a racetrack built around the park,” Ald. Reilly said.
Reilly said the Lightfoot administration just decided to move the Taste to Navy Pier without any dialogue with him or neighbors.
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“That is a last minute switcheroo just like the casino deal was, like the NASCAR deal was, this is a trend, it is likely what this mayor wasn’t re-elected,” he said.
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Additionally, Reilly said the administration has not been transparent about how many days Grant Park will close for NASCAR. He said the city council was originally told 25 to 30 days maximum, but now he said it may be 40 to include set up and break down.
“People are going to have a very hard time getting to programing in Maggie Daley Park, the baseball diamonds are not available for use,” said Leslie Recht, president of the Grant Park Advisory Council.
Recht said her organization has yet to hear any of the latest details from NASCAR.
“There are a lot of issues that were never addressed when the contract with NASCAR was signed,” she said.
While Recht and Reilly said park groups and the city have a good working relationship with Lollapalooza, between both events, portions of Grant Park will be closed for over 80 days.
“Grant Park is being quietly and slowly privatized where there are only a handful of days each summer season where the public can use it without having to pay an admissions fee,” Reilly said.
