☀ Sundays on the Boulevard kicks off with the 5th Annual Slide Into Summer!

Slide Into Summer is a great opportunity to connect youth with fun and productive activities this summer. The event also includes food, music, vendors, art making, games, and FREE BOOKS! Don’t forget to say hello to the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot ambassadors and learn about the awesome events, exhibitions, and opportunities we have coming up this summer. See you there!

Saturday, June 6 will be an awesome day at Douglass Park as we celebrate Juneteenth!

There will be performances, music, free food, a health and resource fair, art making, and guided trolley rides down Ogden Avenue - aka Route 66, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year!

This FREE event is sponsored by the Chicago Park District and the Juneteenth Renaissance Institute, with support from many other community organizations and leaders. Don’t miss what will be a truly awesome event!

Tickets: link

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/douglass-juneteenth-celebration-tickets-1988351363453

Help us color the sky with the first Douglass Park Kite Festival! Featuring food, music, art making, and KITES!

Everyone loves flying a kite, but too many of us have not done it in years! Bring the family, a picnic blanket, and a kite and enjoy an afternoon in the park! Some additional kites will be available. Tickets available here.

Sponsored by the Chicago Park District, Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, Art West, One Lawndale Arts & Activism Incubator, Riot Fest, Mayor’s Office of Public Safety, and Red Line Service.

Note: this event is on the south side of Ogden , near the soccer field, tennis courts, and willow pond.

To get geared up for the May 30 Douglass Park Kite Festival, we are excited to offer a KITE MAKING WORKSHOP on SATURDAY, May 23, 1:00-3:00 at Love Blooms Here Plaza. Learn from a professional kite maker and get your very own kite 🪁 for FREE!

REGISTRATION IS VERY LIMITED! Reserve your spot here.

A Mexico-Chicago–Mosul (Iraq) art opening with live artist dialogue, coffee, music, food—exploring connection, care, and collective healing.

You’re invited to Portal to Peace, a group exhibition and public program rooted in North Lawndale and connected to artists working across Chicago, Mosul, and beyond.

Rooted in North Lawndale, Portal to Peace grew from the Portal Project (launched October 2025 by Lawndale Pop-Up Spot), connecting artists and community leaders in Chicago, Mosul, Mexico City, and elsewhere through conversations, shared making, and exchange that builds care, connection, and collective imagining across geographies shaped by systemic violence.

Come get your coffee from Monday Coffee Co. Food’s on us, both Chicag-style hotdogs and Middle Eastern kebabs. Join a live conversation with the artists in Iraq, and dance to global beats DJed by @sheepmanog

Participating artists include Alexie Young, Andrea Jablonski, Kent Jones, Barber, Brandon Boler, Michele Y. Washington, The Black Bloom Project, Hasan Sabah, Ahmed Issa, Ahmed Sardad, Muthafar Muafaq Qasim, Asraa Dawood, Latif Yasin Latif, Rosul Muthana Mohamed Rashad, Maryam Mahmood Osama, Ali Lazim, Musab Mohamed Abd Alrazaq, Hayat Kamil Abbas, Zainab Ather Hasan, and Ali Abd Alkarim.

Reserve your ticket here.

Join other members of the community in participating in our annual collaboration with Friends of the Chicago River!

Join us for food, art making, and BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS! With Open Books’ Booksmobile, Chicago Public Library, storytime with The Boohoo Boohoo Bear, and special guest Cindy the Cowgirl. Current exhibition: Black Boy Joy

Think you know Lawndale? Join us at Starling by Duo, 3243 W. 16th St., for our first LAWNDALE TRIVIA NIGHT! Bring your crew or come by yourself - prizes will be awarded! We will have snacks, and After Monday will be there with their tea service.

And you can get more information about the upcoming exhibitions and events, and how YOU can get involved with the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot this year!

Get dressed in your costume and enjoy the festivities! Each person in costume will receive a free coat!

Featuring games, music, food, free books, prizes, and a special Dia de los Muertos portal session with Mexico City!

Co-sponsored by Phalanx Family Services, 290’s Pantry Inc, Open Books, and 1 Lawndale Children’s Discovery Center

We will be going LIVE with Sao Vicente, Brazil, where a samba band will be performing via the Portal Project! We will also have free Brazilian food, samba lessons, and more!

The Portal Project continues with live video connections between the Lawndale Pop-Up Spots and portals in two countries in Africa.

9:00-11:00 a.m.: “Breakfast Across Borders: Art and Impact”

Traditional Ethiopian coffee service by Mella Cafe and conversation with artists at an Addis Ababa art school.

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: “The Art of Yoruba Praise Poetry”

Join poets and delve into the world of Yorubu oriki, where words are woven to honor individuals, ancestry, and deities through traditional poetic and lyrical expression. Live music & traditional Nigerian food by Dozzy!

“Meet a Stranger in South Africa” - join the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, OLAAI, and Shared Studios at the first public event for the Portal Project, in which a video portal will be set up in the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot to communicate with sites across the globe.

This event takes place alongside the opening celebration of the 4th Annual Chicago Sukkah Design Festival, taking place down the block at James Stone Freedom Square.

The final Sundays on the Boulevard of 2025 is here! Animalpalooza will feature a petting zoo, horseback rides, West(side)minster Dog Show, and plenty of resources, food, arts & crafts, free books, face painting, balloon animals, bounce house, and much, much more! You won’t want to miss this extravaganza!

Join us for movie night, featuring Akeelah and the Bee! We will have popcorn, s’mores, and a spelling bee starting at 6:00, with the movie screening at dusk (around 7:30 p.m.). Hope to see you there!

Join us, as we close the Portal 2 Promise exhibition with an afternoon of song, story, and community. This special gathering honors the journey of the exhibit — weaving the voices of our past, the spirit of our present, and the hope of our future. Featuring live performances by Christina Njoloma and Nuny Da Gypsy and delicious food!

Marvin Tate hosts Soul Salad on the fourth Friday of every month for Theatre Y. This month, Marvin and crew will be at Love Blooms Here Plaza! Please join us for great vibes, free food, and good times at the Pop-Up Spot - and check out the exhibition, Portal 2 Promise: An Afrofuturist Vision of North Lawndale.

It's that time of year! Sundays on the Boulevard continues with the annual Back to School Lit Fest, hosted by Open Books!

Get what you need for the forthcoming school year, including back packs, resources, free hair cuts and styling, and books, plus free food, Ida's artisan ice cream, face painting, live music with Thaddeus Tukes and Music, Inc., and the popular bike raffle!

If you're interested in tabling or have any questions, please contact Jonathan Kelley at jonathanmkelley@gmail.com or 312-420-2558

Join Theatre Y as it brings its weekly creative gathering, Friday Night Swerve, to Love Blooms Here Plaza! This week’s activation, Performer Sandbox, features composer Ben Zucker, rapper/producer AQ, and Devised Theatre’s Lizzy May. Pizza provided!

Opening reception for “Portal 2 Promise: An Afrofuturist Vision of North Lawndale” by Rick Chilton. Chilton’s proposal was chosen by a panel of North Lawndale residents and stakeholders for the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot’s August exhibition.

Join us for an exciting day of fun on Douglas Boulevard! This edition of Sundays on the Boulevard is an exciting community event for all ages. Get ready to move, play, and explore with games, sports, dancing, yoga, live music, resource tables, and plenty of outdoor fun. Whether you love soccer, basketball, tennis, roller skating, or just soaking up the sunshine with family and friends, there is something for everyone!

Featuring a special performance by the Jesse White Tumblers and live music by Meagan McNeal.

Come out, get active, and connect with your community. You won’t want to miss it!

Register to attend here

Free Food will be provided! See you there!

In Collaboration with Urban Initiatives

Sponsored by the Steans Family Foundation, Safe and Peaceful Communities, and the North Lawndale Athletic and Recreation Association

Sundays on the Boulevard continues with A Taste of Lawndale! Featuring great culinary vendors from the West Side, as well as live music from the Larry Taylor Soul Blues Healers, creative activities, resources from the neighborhood, and plenty of fun and games for the whole family!

The Lawndale Pop-Up Spot is excited to participate in the first annual North Lawndale Juneteenth Liberty & Justice for All Parade! The parade will take place the morning of Juneteenth, and go from 16th & Kostner to 16th & Homan - we hope you’ll come out and show your support! Email NLAnnualJuneteenthParade@gmail.com if you’d like to volunteer!

To be followed by the annual Boxing Out Negativity Juneteenth Celebration on 16th Street between Ridgeway and Springfield.