THE ROAD AHEAD
Retooled Auto Show in July will be city’s 1st convention in over a year; CSO, Grant Park Music Fest set in-person concerts
Chicago moves a few steps closer to normalcy as auto show gets green light to bring crowds back to McCormick Place and the CSO and Grant Park Music Festival plan in-person concerts. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a more ambitious goal: a completely open Chicago by July 4.
For the first time in over a year, Chicago’s calendar is starting to fill up — a little, at least.
With COVID-19 infection rates steadily shrinking and the ranks of the fully vaccinated slowly swelling, elected officials and conventioneers on Tuesday announced a handful of signature city events are officially back on, marking the latest small steps back toward normalcy.
They touch on everything from the latest offerings from automakers to food to music — indoors and out.
But like everything else in the age of the coronavirus, the city’s returning conventions and concerts will look a little different.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the Chicago Auto Show will take place July 15-19, a shorter run — and a warmer one — than the traditional nine-day event during the dregs of February. It’s a shorter and smaller show to reduce costs and encourage automakers to participate, officials said.
The city’s first major convention since March 6, 2020, will also move to McCormick Place’s West Building, limited to 10,000 people at a time. For the first time since 1901, it’ll be a “hybrid” show, with exhibits both indoors and out.
Tickets will be sold strictly online for specifically timed entrance windows to keep the crowd within capacity. Attendees must wear masks, pre-register and fill out a “short medical questionnaire so we know everyone on the floor is healthy,” according to David Sloan, president of the Chicago Auto Trade Association.
The changes allow automakers and show organizers to “get creative and try new things,” Sloan said.
“In addition to offering numerous outdoor test drives and other things going on outside, we’re seeking permission to turn Indiana Avenue into an automotive street festival in the evening of most show days, featuring local food, entertainment and, of course, sparkling new cars and trucks,” he said.
Pritzker said the auto show has brought “smiles and excitement” to Chicago since 1901.
“The fun is back and I, for one, can’t wait,” the governor said. “What a great day it is. We are making an important step forward,” away from the “challenges of the pandemic and toward normalcy.”
The Chicago Symphony Center is reopening its doors even sooner, with the first Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert series since the onset of the pandemic scheduled to run May 27-June 13.
They’ll be lower capacity shows, with face masks required and a socially distanced orchestra, meaning only 45 musicians will be on stage.
And the Grant Park Music Festival is returning to the Pritzker Pavilion near Millennium Park for a season of outdoor concerts kicking off July 2 through Aug. 21.
Shows there will operate at 25% capacity — about 3,000 people — with reserved seating for all, both in the pavilion and on the lawn, using “touchless” ticketing.
While the Auto Show is expected to be a trial run of sorts for other city conventions that are still waiting for the green light, up in Rosemont, they’re off to the races.
Officials in the northwest suburb declared “We’re back!” while announcing a slate of “approximately 30 trade shows and public events” that are tentatively scheduled to start in July at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
It typically hosts 70 trade shows and 250 other meetings annually, and now its doors are reopening “with the health and safety of attendees at the top of mind,” according to Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens.
“We’re excited to take another step towards normal,” Stephens said in a statement. “It’s good for Rosemont, and it’s good for Illinois.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker applauds Tuesday at a news conference to announce that the Chicago Auto Show will be held in July. “We are making an important step forward,” Pritzker said, away from the “challenges of the pandemic and toward normalcy.”