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Martha Murphy

Professor McLaughlin

Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric

3 April 2015

The Rhetorical Effect of City Festivals on Chicago Culture

The multiple large-scale Chicago Festivals have received enormous attention, especially

in the last decade, because they continue to gain popularity and shape visitors’ perspective of the

city. Chicago hosts several internationally recognized festivals each year that continue to have a

prolonged impact on the spirit of the city long after the event ends and the gates are shut. These

parades, music festivals, art fairs and food fests are not just unaffiliated events that last a few

days each year, but rather the core of Chicago’s identity. Whether the venue is beside the

lakefront, in Grant Park, or along the north shore, millions of people travel to Chicago to

experience these perspective changing events. Those who are opposed to the presence of these

festivals feel that these events do not have any impact on the city or its residents’ way of life, and

believe that these events are simply approved to make money for the city. However, I support the

reasoning that these festivals convince people how to see Chicago and allow them to quickly

capture the city’s artistic character. This debate is important to me because as a resident of

Chicagoland, I have attended many of these festivals multiple times, and I believe they are of

great importance in shaping people’s attitudes about the city.

This issue may seem like a very small argument, but these festivals create a

representation of the city to thousands of visitors. In 2014 alone, over 40,000 runners

participated in the Chicago Marathon (Douglas), and over 300,000 people bought Lollapalooza

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tickets, with the festival selling out in less than 90 minutes (“Lollapalooza Sells Out”). Today,

multiple events such as the Taste of Chicago, Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, and the Chicago Blues

festival are regarded as some of largest festivals in the country (“Top Chicago Festvals”). These

events are growing in size and popularity every year. Tickets for festivals are getting more

expensive to buy, and the Marathon has even resorted to a lottery process in 2013 in order to

decide who gets to run (Douglas). Because these festivals try to embody the spirit of Chicago,

the fact that Chicagoans have to compete with tourists for tickets to these events makes this

argument a very relevant issue. There is a balancing act between attracting tourists to these

events, while still keeping the spirit of Chicago alive with the locals.

The purpose of this paper is to show how Chicago festivals and events have significantly

influenced the city over the past two decades. I plan to discuss how these events shape the

overall culture and ideology of the city. I will argue that despite the controversy and drawbacks

present, the benefits of these large scale Chicago festivals contribute in favor of the continuation

of these annual events. Likewise, the ethos that is subsequently portrayed through related media

and rhetoric conveys an idealistic urban identity which continues to attract thousands of people

to Chicago year after year. By the end of the essay, I hope to address the counterarguments

concerning the negative opinions that have evolved as a result of these festivals’ growing

popularity, and demonstrate the invaluable presence these events have in shaping Chicago

culture.

Through my research I will not only discuss these festivals’ impact as a whole, but I will

also place particular focus on two large Chicago festivals—Lollapalooza and the Chicago

Marathon—which will serve as two focused examples to show how these festivals specifically

change the nature of the city. These two festivals arguably have the most impact on the city, and

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they are also the most famous events that Chicago annually hosts. The role of media also greatly

influences the success of these two events. By analyzing related promotional materials, I will

gain valuable insight into why these events are becoming so popular and how they affect

people’s collective opinion about Chicago.

Chicago culture has evolved from the city’s strong immigrant foundations. In the early

days of the city, there was never one group of people that was prominent in the area. Instead,

many diverse groups of people came together to form a melting pot that left a sampling of

customs from many different lands (Ortiz). These different cultures are appreciated in the diverse

lineup of festivals that Chicago hosts every year. Events such as the Irish American Heritage

Festival, Taste of Greece, La Fiesta Del Sol, and the Thai Festival are a few of the many festivals

the city hosts that capture the many different nationalities represented in Chicago culture and

tradition (“Chicago Festivals List”). Chicago culture is also heavily formed by signature foods

“which reflect the city’s ethnic and working-class roots” (“Culture of Chicago”). Deep dish

pizza, the Chicago style hot dog, the Italian beef sandwich and many other foods that embody

Chicago’s culture are showcased in festivals such as The Taste of Chicago, the world’s largest

food festival (“Welcome to Chicago”). In addition to food, music is also a major component of

Chicago culture that continues to impact the city’s urban identity. Chicago’s blues, Jazz, and

Gospel roots were the foundation of Chicago’s famous musical reputation, and this tradition has

continued into contemporary styles (“Culture of Chicago”). Chicago is the birthplace of House

music, and the city also has a growing independent rock scene thanks to “multiple festivals

featuring various acts each year including Lollapalooza, the Intonation Music Festival and

Pitchfork Music Festival” (“Culture of Chicago”). All of these events “go beyond a mere

presentation” of the diversity present in Chicago. Chicago Tribune writer Benjamin Ortiz writes,

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“you’ll get a mood, feeling, language and clothing—an immersion that, while you’re there, is

fully capable of transporting you”. Ortiz says that these festivals will change the way you think

about the city. There may be controversy over just how influential these events are to Chicago,

but most can agree that these signature events continue to create an appreciation of many strong

ethnicities, that kept alive by the spirited people of Chicago.

Among all of the festivals that take place in Chicago, Lollapalooza and the Chicago

Marathon are two that combine all of the different ethnicities and influences of the city and put

them together into a celebration of culture and identity. Both of these events websites note that

participants will witness a “cultural experience” by attending Lollapalooza or running the

marathon. It isn’t just a three-day festival or a four hour race that people attend. Rather,

participants are immersed in a frenzy of cultural sharing. Additionally, the spectators who attend

these events are also very diverse—they come from all walks of life to Chicago to partake in

these events. You could describe these two festivals as “days of sharing” that enhance the city

culturally, monumentally, socially, and artistically.

Lollapalooza, an annual, three day alternative and indie music festival that takes place in

Chicago’s Grant Park, is considered to be one of the “big four” music festivals in the United

States (Trinh). Since its humble beginnings in 1991, Lollapalooza has rapidly grown in size and

popularity to the point where festivalgoers call it “the Wal-Mart of Festivals” (Lozano). The

festival’s website features a page titled “The Festival Experience”, which addresses what visitors

are to expect throughout their whirlwind weekend. The first lines read, “Lollapalooza is more

than just a music festival. Taking place each year in historic Grant Park, Lolla is a three-day

cultural experience that takes place on 115 acres between downtown Chicago and Lake

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Michigan” (“Lollapalooza, Festival Experience”). Lollapalooza is an event that continues to

surprise and excite its visitors.

The festival’s YouTube page features many advertisements that display recaps from past

festivals and capture the intense mood of the festival. The Lollapalooza 2014 Recap video opens

by showing the Chicago skyline, which is an icon of the festival and the City of Chicago.

Footage of Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Chicago Flag, and the Sears Tower are all part

of a rhetorical device to enhance the larger theme and background of the festival—Lollapalooza

is not just a music festival, but also a celebration of Chicago’s unique identity and history. The

video shows the crowds of people, mostly teenagers, flooding the streets, train stations, and

subways, all ready to take part in this iconic experience. Strobe lights, crowd surfing, wild

outfits, and loud rock music featured in the video enforces the idea that the crowd is young and

that the festival brings the city to life. In the midst of the summer, Lollapalooza is the heart and

soul of the city for 72 hours (youtube.com). The rhetoric of this video was all intentional to not

only persuade people to come to Lollapalooza, but also to show that experiencing this festival is

necessary for one to fully immerse themselves in Chicago’s identity.

Lollapalooza is so unique because if the festival was hosted in any other American city,

the tradition and spirit of Chicago that is infused within it would be lost. Lollapalooza also has

festivals in Brazil and Chile, and not surprisingly, the experience of these shows is completely

different than Lollapalooza-Chicago, even though all three festivals have similar set lists. The

Lollapalooza merchandise and advertisements change from year to year, but Chicago influences

are always a prominent feature in the festival’s promotional materials. Reoccurring images

include the Chicago skyline, the Sears tower, and an outline of Lake Michigan. Common colors

of t-shirts are blue and red, which are the colors of the Chicago flag, and the festival often gives

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away coupons and conducts raffles to promote Chicago restaurants and businesses.

Lollapalooza’s media and merchandise prove that the festival is not only made unique by

Chicago, but is also unified with the city.

Lollapalooza is promoted by official advertisements and media, but the festival is

additionally promoted by festivalgoers themselves. Snapchat, an Iphone app that became popular

in 2011, has changed the way crowds experience Lollapalooza (techcrunch.com). Instead of just

a taking a collection of pictures that will appear later on some form of social media, Snapchat

users can now view the festival’s “Snapchat Story” while the festival is going on (Rumore). A

Snapchat story features an event in a certain location and highlights the most memorable posts

that were sent from the app. Snapchat is a unique form of rhetoric that captures Chicago culture

because it features footage from the festival in real time. “Snaps” are sent in from festivalgoers,

approved by Lollapalooza media, and then viewed by anyone with the Snapchat app (Rumore).

Increased technology, advertisement, and social media, such as Snapchat, has made music

festivals explode in popularity over the past decade, and they all are outlets of communication

that shape people’s attitudes about the festival and the city.

Similar to Lollapalooza, the Chicago Marathon is another large Chicago event that

combines Chicago’s diversity and cultural influences. On the marathons website, the Chicago

Experience is a page, much like the “festival experience” page on Lollapalooza’s website opens

with a statement that says, “On race day, runners are treated to a 26.2-mile tour of diverse

cultures, historic buildings and residences, renowned architecture, vibrant murals and the mouth-

watering scents of some of the best dining in the world” (Chicago Marathon-Experience”).

Chicago is very proud of its ethnic neighborhoods, and the Chicago Marathon is so iconic

because the cheering sections and spectators along the course are all very different, but they all

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share a part in Chicago ideology. Runners wind through 29 different neighborhoods that are all

diverse and display cultures from around the world. From the magnificent mile to Lincoln Park,

Chinatown to Greektown, and Little Italy to Old Town, these areas of the city all have long-

standing history and rich tradition (“Chicago Marathon-Route”). People are able to run

marathons all around the world, but in Chicago, the experience is completely unique. The

marathon provides snapshots of Chicago history along the way, and since 1.7 million spectators

come to cheer on the runners, the event also brings the diverse people of the city together in a

celebration of accomplishment (Chicago Marathon-Community”).

In addition to Chicago runners and local spectators, the marathon attracts participants

from around the world. In 2014, 400,000 runners from diverse backgrounds came together to

accomplish one common goal (“Chicago Marathon-Participate”). The popularity of this event

builds a strong international community, and in turn this community brings influences from

hundreds of nations to Chicago every year. The spirit of the Marathon can be seen all throughout

the entire race, but it is most prominent at the start line. Just in front of the Buckingham

Fountain, with the Chicago skyline looming in the background, thousands of runners line up to

complete the test of human nature. These thousands of people range from novice runners to elite

competitors, and come from many different places, ethnicities, and walks of life; yet, they all

gather in Chicago once a year to showcase their efforts and ability.

The Chicago Marathon promotional materials convey the city’s culture in ways almost

identical to that of Lollapalooza. In a 2011 Chicago Marathon promotional advertisement, the

video opens over Grant Park showing the thousands of runners about to start the race. The video

cuts to several different ethnic neighborhoods and shows many spectators all cheering,

displaying different flags and colorful signs. The rest of the video moves through the course,

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showing the people of Chicago loudly cheering on runners to the finish. The video ends at the

finish line, in the heart of Grant Park, with a celebration of the end of the race. Large Chicago

Marathon posters with the Chicago Flag on them can be seen in the foreground (youtube.com).

In the video, all of the spectators with posters says something about the unique spirit of the city.

Residents from all different parts of the city come out to support the runners, and they stand

outside for hours in the heat or freezing cold to cheer for family, friends, or even strangers. These

people they are cheering for are from all over the world. They possibly speak different

languages, and their countries might even be political enemies. However, the spectators of the

Chicago Marathon cheer for everyone in the race. Photos on the Chicago Marathon website show

people giving each other high fives, the masses of people running up LaSalle Street, and children

hugging parents who have just completed the race (Chicago Marathon-Media Gallery”). This

event is a great demonstration of ethos, since the atmosphere the city creates for the runners is

very friendly, encouraging, and welcoming. The Chicago Marathon brings people together from

across the world, and for one day, they are all Chicagoans, unified with positive spirit of the city

and its people.

Chicago festivals over the past decade have an invaluable effect on shaping Chicago

culture. All of the festivals showcase the diversity of the city and celebrate the many different

ethnicities present in the city. Specifically, Lollapalooza and the Chicago Marathon bring

Chicago’s diversity together for a celebration of identity and accomplishment. These festivals

may only be believed to last a day or two, but in reality, the presence of these festivals shape the

spirit of Chicago year round because they encourage inclusiveness and are open to adaptation.

Every year, these festival carry on the original culture of Chicago for current and future

generations.

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Works Cited

"A Brief History Of Snapchat." TechCrunch. TechCrunch, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Bank of America Chicago Marathon." Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Bank of America

Corporation. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Chicago Festivals List | Chi Town Fests." Chi Town Festivals. ChiTownFestivals, 2015. Web.

03 Apr. 2015.

"Culture of Chicago." Culture of Chicago. <ch.icago.us> Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Lollapalooza 2015." Lollapalooza 2015. Lollapalooza, 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Lollapalooza Sells Out." City of Chicago. City of Chicago.org, 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Top 15 Chicago Illinois USA Events and Festivals." Top 15 Chicago, Illinois USA Events and

Festivals. Top Events USA, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Watch & Relive Lollapalooza 2014." YouTube. YouTube, 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

"Welcome to Chicago." What to Do in Chicago. Choose Chicago, 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

Douglas, Scott. "Chicago Marathon Switches to Lottery for Registration." Runner's World &

Running Times. Newswire, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

Lozano, Pepe. "Lollapalooza Music Festival Sparks Controversy." People's World. U.S. News,

14 July 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Ortiz, Benjamin. "Experience Balkans, Brazil, Germany, France with a Ride across Town to

Overseas." The Chicago Tribune 16 Feb. 2012: 1. Print.

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Rumore, Aubrey. "Snapchat Progresses as Social, Cultural Platform."University Wire [Carlsbad]

30 Oct. 2014:1 Print.

Trinh, Jean. "18 Best U.S. Summer Music Festivals." The Daily Beast. N.p., 2013. Web. 3 Apr.

2015.