The 606 Opening Weekend – A Party Ten Years in the Making

Three-mile long festival planned for JUNE 6-7, 2015

The Trust for Public Land (TPL.org) invites you to enjoy music, dancing, processions, and hands-on family activities that celebrate the community spirit that launched this park and trail project.  The 606 (The606.org) includes the centerpiece Bloomingdale Trail, Chicago’s first elevated trail, and six ground-level parks. Four of these will be complete when The 606 opens to the general public for the first time June 6.  Everyone is invited to join one of the dozens of processions that will crisscross on the trail-top throughout the day, or plan their own by registering at The606.org/events.

There also will be sports, arts, and nature-centered activities underway at Walsh, Churchill, Milwaukee/Leavitt and Julia de Burgos, the four street-level parks that will open with the Trail June 6. The festival includes fare from a mix of local restaurants.

 

WHEN: The opening weekend festival will take place across the full three miles of The 606 on Saturday, June 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Sunday, June 7, The Trust for Public Land and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail host a community pancake breakfast from 10:00 a.m.– 1:00 p.m. at the McCormick Tribune YMCA, 1834 N. Lawndale.

WHERE: Two festival stages will be located on Humboldt Boulevard, one at Wabansia and the other at Cortland.  The initial four parks of The 606 are connected to The Bloomingdale Trail, which stretches between Ashland Ave. (1600W) and Ridgeway Ave. (3750W) at Bloomingdale Ave. (1800N). View map:The606.org/map

 

WEEKEND DETAILS:

Saturday June 6:

  • 8 a.m., celebratory ribbon cuttings at each access ramp of The 606.
  • 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. A day of community processions led by Opera-Matic, West Town Bikes, Voice of the City/ChiArts and Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, including a procession featuring decorated bikes, and a community flag-making and flag-waving procession. Want to join us? Sign up here:The606.org/events.
  • 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., The 606 Festival at Humboldt Boulevard: two music stages, beer, food vendors, SummerDance, and participatory activities. Artists include Angel Melendez and Latin Rhythms, Golden Ranch Square Dance, Joel Paterson and Big City Swing, DJ Spinna, Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta, and Chicago music staple Robbie Fulks.
  • 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., nature fun, family races and other activities in the parks.
  • 9 p.m., Illumination Hour at dusk (from 6-8 p.m., visitors can make illuminated objects to carry when them as the festival closes).

Sunday, June 7:

  • 10:00 a.m.– 1:00 p.m., pancake breakfast at McCormick Tribune YMCA, 1834 N. Lawndale Ave, hosted by The Trust for Public Land and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail.

 

About The 606

Opening June 6, 2015, The 606 takes Chicago’s legacy of great parks to new heights. The 606 has the elevated 2.7-mile Bloomingdale Trail as its centerpiece; when fully built out, the trail will be connected to six neighborhood parks at ground level, a wheel-friendly event plaza, an observatory, art installations, educational programming and other amenities. Set above city streets, it’s a new way to explore Chicago on trails for biking, running and strolling. The 606 also connects parks, people, and communities; what once physically separated four neighborhoods now will knit them together and attract visitors from throughout Chicago and beyond. Imaging block after block of uninterrupted trails. Kids will learn to ride their bikes up here, commuters will find a new shortcut to work, and neighbors will make new friends. The 606 will change what it means to go to the park.  The 606 runs along Bloomingdale Avenue (1800N) on Chicago’s northwest side, and is a partnership between the City of Chicago, The Chicago Park District and not-for-profit The Trust for Public Land. For more information, visit The606.org, on Twitter or on Facebook.