Old Town School of Folk Music is delighted to present as part of the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Millennium Park Residency Program Global Carnival, an immersive performance experience free of admission that will feature Afro-Brazilian carnival block Ilê Aiyê and New Orleans Black Masking Indian artists Flagboy Giz & The Wild Tchoupitoulas. Also included will be performances by local ensembles such as the Windy City Ramblers, Muntu Dance Theatre, Azania Drum, Team Jukeboxx Mas Band, the Epic Steel Orchestra and DJ Shon Dervis. Old Town School's Global Carnival will take place on Sunday, September 22 from 5-9pm at Jay Pritzker Pavilion and throughout Millennium Park. More information can be found at oldtownschool.org.
Using various areas of Millennium Park as well as a main stage performance at Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Old Town School's Global Carnival will weave together performances found in celebrations across the Black Atlantic.
Carnival season is a well-known tradition throughout the Caribbean Basin and Latin America, with famous celebrations in Brazil, New Orleans, and Trinidad. While Chicago boasts sizable populations from the regions that participate in the Carnival tradition, large-scale outdoor celebrations are often difficult in the traditional Lenten season in winter.
The celebratory feeling found in Carnival celebrations engage the healing possibilities of releasing pain, stress, frustration and creating opportunities to embrace freedom, liberatory joy, and revelatory experiences with your shared neighbors and community.
Global Carnival will bring an exciting evening of these experiences to Millennium Park’s 20th Anniversary Season and is also part of the City’s 10-day World Music Festival Chicago. The engagement follows Old Town School's commitment to the folk tradition: sharing stories and performances from one culture to another.
This event is a program made possible by Old Town School’s Music Moves Chicago (MMC) – a place-based, youth-focused, intergenerational initiative that aims to inspire, restore, and transform communities by providing access to high quality arts education, concerts, and workforce readiness through partnerships with community organizations, schools, and other institutions located in South and West side neighborhoods.
"Global Carnival is an extension of our cultural work across the city, which has been forged through thoughtful community partnerships,” says Arif Smith, Old Town School’s Music Moves Manager. “This extraordinary event will provide an important opportunity to experience the transformative power of Carnival while elevating the ethos of the Black Atlantic–the kind of cosmic joy and devotion that the city of Chicago deserves."
Ilê Aiyê, the legendary Bloco Afro from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, has been lifting up Afro Brazilian cultural heritage and fighting for social justice and equality for 50 years through dance, music, education and community organizing. Founded in 1974 by Antonio Carlos dos Santos Vovô and Apolônio de Jesus (in memorium), in opposition to the racist policies of Bahia’s carnaval, Ilê Aiyê was the first Bloco Afro (Afro Brazilian Carnaval Organization). Ilê Aiyê’s creation was inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Liberation Movements in the United States and worldwide.
Flagboy Giz is a musician, cultural performer, beadworker, producer, and MC from New Orleans, Louisiana. For nearly a decade, he has been a member of the historic Wild Tchoupitoulas Black Masking Indians, a tribe of culture bearers whose music was made famous in the 1970s by the legendary funk groups The Meters as well as The Neville Brothers. His music is informed and inspired by the traditions of Mardi Gras Indian music, a uniquely New Orleans heritage combining elements of West African rhythms, funk music, chanting, and other Black folk music influences. Flagboy Giz has garnered tremendous acclaim, including a profile in the New York Times and appearances at Lil Wayne’s Weezyana Fest, Red Bull Street Kings, the National Fried Chicken Festival, and many more. In 2023, he appeared at the world-renowned New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the French Quarter Festival, two festivals he revisited as a performer in 2024. In February 2023, he became the cover star at OffBeat, the city’s pre-eminent music and culture publication.
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Millennium Park Residency Program provides grant support to local nonprofit cultural organizations to curate, develop, and produce free public programs in Millennium Park. The program is supported by the Millennium Park Foundation and Pritzker Foundation,
About Old Town School of Folk Music
Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music is the largest community school of the arts in the U.S. and a non-profit organization committed to bringing people together to learn, create, perform, and enjoy music and dance. Founded in 1957, the Old Town School of Folk Music provides a wide range of music, dance, and arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Whatever one’s interest, the Old Town School provides broad access to more than 700 accredited weekly class offerings, private lessons, and over 400 concerts and community events per year both in-person and online. More information about classes, upcoming events and history is available at oldtownschool.org.
About Millennium Park
Celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary season, Millennium Park delivers a world-class collection of architecture, landscape design and art that provides the backdrop for hundreds of free cultural programs including concerts, exhibitions, interactive art and family activities. In Millennium Park, you’ll find a spectacular gathering spot located in the heart of the city, a destination for all Chicagoans and visitors alike. In addition to the more than 80 free events to be presented throughout the summer. Millennium Park is the #1 attraction in the Midwest and among the top 10 most-visited sites in the U.S. Located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south, the Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Plan your visit at MillenniumPark.org; follow on Facebook (@MillenniumParkChicago), X (Twitter), Instagram (@Millennium_Park); and join the conversation on social media using #MillenniumPark.
About DCASE
The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, their programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across the city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago. For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE.