5 Ways to Fix Looptopia
By Chris • Updated May 5th, 2008 • Category: Chicago News
After I officially declared Looptopia a bust, I figured that if I’m going to criticize, I should at least offer some ideas for how the event can be improved. As I was fighting for a view of Looptopia 2008, I began to make a list of 5 Ways to Fix Looptopia.
5 Ways to Fix Looptopia
1) Keep Large Venues Open – I am sure there is a lot of bureaucracy surrounding Millenium Park and The Art Institute, but when these venues close at 11pm, it puts a real damper on the festivities. Millenium Park should be full of street performers and music, but instead we are met with a police lock-down. Without Millenium Park and The Art Institute open all night, Looptopia will face an uphill battle.
2) Choose Proper Venues – It just seems silly to me that Looptopia would use the Palmer House for a Broadway in Chicago Cabaret, when there are three theaters – operated by Broadway in Chicago – that could much better showcase these talents. One of the theaters could be used as the venue, and they could hold several 30 minute showcases throughout the night, allowing people to enter and exit the theater before and after the show.
Having venues with a raised stage or raised bleachers would allow many more people to actually see the entertainment.
3) Listen to The Music – When a raised stage / bleachers are not an option, then I would suggest going with a purely musical act. There was a great band playing at Daley Plaza while we were trying to catch a glimpse of the Midnight Circus, but nobody was paying attention to the band because we were all jumping around trying to see the jugglers. I suggest eliminating the large performance area and allowing people to get right up by the stage to enjoy the music.
4) Pull an All-Nighter – Looptopia claims to be a “dusk till dawn celebration” and I think many people would take advantage of that celebration if they were allowed to. We arrived at 9:30pm and were told that there were no more After-Midnight Wristbands available. I predicted that this would be a problem, and the Wristband Shortage of course reduced the number of people who could attend the later events – and was a big disappointment.
5) Save The Date – I would suggest moving Looptopia to a later date. I understand that they might not want to compete with the summer weather, but Looptopia 2007 fell victim to frigid temperatures and Looptopia 2008 was almost rained-out. Moving Looptopia to a weekend in early June would help alleviate some of the weather problems and bring many more people out to the event.
Recent Posts
Chicago Summer Events
Chicago Blues Fest
Chicago Riverwalk
Chicago Country Music Fest
Chicago Latin Music Festival
I went this year and had a blast. I did not go in ‘07 but I heard about some of the problems. Despite not being able to get a wristband, we were able to get into the Auditorium Theatre and the DePaul center. We were turned away at the Palmer House but it was almost 5 anyway. The Weird Sisters and the Cupid Players at the Auditorium Theatre were the highlight of my evening. They could have simply made more wristbands as the Auditorium was never full even without the main balcony being open. I will definitely go in ‘09.
That being said I would agree that implementing your suggestion would make for a much better event in ‘09.
I think the biggest issue with Looptopia is that they’re trying to please the masses with an all-out cultural celebration, but also please the 60601 residents by not having noise and bedlam all night long. In my book you either not call it an “all-nighter” or you irk the residents for one night and do it all. You can’t go half-arse with this sort of thing.
I also think the chosen attractions might have to be re-thought. I am an avid art lover and love to see diversity, but if most people are running to hear a rock band, or especially cover band, then it speaks loudly as to what the masses want. Having all sorts of other offbeat attractions will only be good if there are people coming to them or at least set up so people pass by. Friends of mine who went to 2007 and 2008 all felt that it seemed like you’re waiting and walking from one “good” event to another, rather than a plethora of them. They also felt like the festival seemed to end at 11, when it’s not supposed to.
Local merchants and stores should also try to pull an all-nighter. Imagine how much MORE the Loop would offer the tourists, both local and from far away, if they could go shopping, eat, drink, etc…all night. From what I saw, it seemed like always, the Loop was dead by 9-ish or 10-ish in terms of businesses.
I also agree on the date factor. You need a nice evening on a WEEKEND to do this. Friday night might not be a big score simply because most people are looking to hop a train home. Perhaps a Saturday into Sunday?
Finally, I think there needs to be more allowed interaction with this crowd. Seems like if you’re not a sanctioned event, you’re told to “move on”. Why not let street performers just show up and perform? Why not let drummers come and start a big drum circle? Why not let some b-boys set up a boom box and perform? If you want the city to get involved, then you need to let them be involved, not just spectate.
It was a great idea, but Chicago is not Europe…not unless we go all the way and start thinking like Europe, rather than like Chicago.
I was just in Toronto for their Nuit Blanche, held Oct 3-4, 2009. Read their playbook, Chicago. After reading the issues pointed out here, perhaps the IOC knew more about Chicago’s inability to put on a party like other world cities. Arco de Lapas in Rio on any given Friday night surpasses what seems to have been attempted at previous Looptopias. Of course, I’m looking your way as we have yet to seriously try a White Night in artsy Minneapolis. The closest thing has been Minneapolis Mosaic, with the same concerns of late-night revelry as in Chicago.