Redmoon Seeks Community-Based Organizations to Partner for the Great Chicago Fire Festival

Published: December 10, 2013

CHICAGO (November 19, 2013) – Redmoon announces a citywide request for proposals (RFP) from Chicago community-based organizations interested in becoming one of 15 different Community Partner Organizations to anchor the Great Chicago Fire Festival. The inauguralGreat Chicago Fire Festival will introduce an annual urban ritual to Chicago in the form of a massive event celebrating Chicago’s powerful spirit of resilience. Preparations take place throughout 2014, culminating in a free, public Grand Spectacle float parade down the Chicago River, Saturday, October 4, 2014. The Great Chicago Fire Festival is a project of Redmoon in partnership with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events(DCASE).

“Redmoon’s core mission has always centered on bringing creativity and artistic experiences into Chicago’s neighborhoods and our work with 15 Community Partner Organizations in preparation for the Fire Festival is a natural progression of that,” said Jim Lasko, Redmoon Executive Artistic Director. “Not only has Redmoon collaborated on art in the communities with its free outdoor spectacles, it has also introduced Chicago audiences to other neighborhoods within the city with which they were not already familiar. The collaborative build and design process throughout next spring and summer will be a democratic opportunity for Chicagoans to join in this festival that celebrates the unique identity of Chicago.”

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) selected to be a part of the Fire Festival will receive free arts programming, as described below. This is the chance to get in on the ground floor of this new city festival, and we need great organizations to apply!

THE PROJECT

Designing a large-scale festival that celebrates Chicago’s unique character and spirit of resilience by showcasing its diverse communities. From the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire to Millennium Park’s spectacular emergence out of the old rail yards, the epic story of Chicago has been a story of destruction and renewal. Drawing on this rich history, the Fire Festival will be a ‘signature event’, reflecting Chicago’s true nature so genuinely that it becomes a cultural and economic beacon for its citizens, the nation, and the world.

The festival’s major activities will occur in three parts:1) Sidewalk Senates in 15 aldermanic wards over the course of Summer 2014. Sidewalk Senates will gather communities for arts activities that are designed to discover and tell the stories of each ward. The Senates will include 6 – 8 months of events for CBOs selected through this application process and events open to the public; 2) A River procession from Chinatown to Wacker Drive during the day of Saturday October 4, 2014; and 3) a Grand Spectacle that evening from State to Columbus Avenue, that will draw tens of thousands to the banks of the Chicago River.

Drawing on elements of a fashion show, the Grand Spectacle will include live music, spectacular performances, and a watery parade of artwork from the 15 aldermanic wards down the Chicago River. It will culminate in a grand showcase on the downtown riverfront.

THE PROCESS

Redmoon will work closely with each of the 15 aldermanic wards. We will implement the Sidewalk Senates in each ward through a cluster of CBOs selected through this application process and through our core partner organizations. Using the information gathered from these Senates, we will then invite communities to participate in building a Fire Sculpture—a symbolic sculpture designed in two parts: an exterior that burns away to reveal a hidden core. This core symbolizes each ward’s unique gift or assets and the exterior symbolizes each ward’s obstacles.

Project Timeline:

November 19, 2013    Proposals for Community-Based Organizations Open

December 19, 2013    Proposals Due

Mid-January, 2014      Finalists Notified

March 1, 2014            15 Aldermanic Wards Announced, 
                                    Sidewalk Senates in Wards Begin

June 1, 2014                Fire Sculpture Design and Build Begins
Summer 2014             Open Build in Parks in Each Ward

                                    Beginning and End of Summer Celebration BBQs

October 3, 2014          Launch Party at Redmoon

October 4, 2014          Great Chicago Fire Festival

THE NEED

We are looking for CBOs that are interested in being a part of the inaugural showcase of the Great Chicago Fire Festival. In exchange for the free arts activities of the Sidewalk Senates, selected organizations will commit to: 1) bringing their constituencies to the arts activities, and 2) working with Redmoon’s media team to help promote the Great Chicago Fire Festival and its auxiliary programming. CBOs will not only benefit from Redmoon’s free arts programming, but will be able to expose their community members to Redmoon’s diverse networks and core partners throughout these different events.

Specifically, in the realm of promotion, Redmoon asks CBOs to be part of a word of mouth campaign, talking up the work and Festival in their wards. Towards this effort, Redmoon will provide posters, email blasts, and social media announcements that the CBOs will disseminate through their existing networks and communities. Redmoon will also provide a small amount of funding to organizations in support of their efforts to promote the programming of the Great Chicago Fire Festival.

In the arts activities of the Sidewalk Senates, Redmoon asks CBOs to be responsible for bringing a consistent group of at least 10 community members to participate. In Spring 2014, these groups will meet with a local artist hired by Redmoon 8 times over the course of a month to design a “Pop-Up Tour”—a dynamic tour of their ward in which the community members will tell their own stories of growing up in the ward to discuss its character. Artists will work closely with community members to perform their stories, develop their storytelling skills, and fashion a coherent narrative of all the different stories of the community members. Community members and artists will perform this Pop-Up Tour 3 times throughout the summer.

Also in the summer, the Sidewalk Senates will include a beginning of summer Kickoff barbeque, open Fire Sculpture build workshops in local parks (2x/week in June and July), and an end of summer Celebration barbeque. All the CBOs and other partners will come together for a Launch Party at Redmoon’s space in Pilsen on October 3, 2014 (transportation will be provided), and on October 4, also will attend the Grand Spectacle on the river’s Main Branch, between State and Columbus, where at sundown, communities will see their Fire Sculpture float and burn in a fantastic ritual.

The partnerships we aim to find through this RFP will be essential in realizing the Great Chicago Fire Festival’s ambition to engage as many different populations as possible during the process of creation. We seek CBOs of a great variety of sizes and missions, who will bring diverse populations to the process of creating this festival.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

This festival aims to celebrate and support the spirit of resilience in organizations and individuals throughout the city. In order to be a partner in the Fire Festival, CBOs must be able to demonstrate the ability to bring community members to events and promote the programming of the Great Chicago Fire Festival through their existing networks. CBOs must:

Enthusiastically partner with Redmoon and other partner organizations during the Sidewalk Senates and throughout the Summer 2014 and the GCFF, to bring at least 10 community members to the Sidewalk Senates.
Foster local economies by dispersing Redmoon posters, email blasts, and social media announcements that promote lead off events in exchange for arts programming through our Sidewalk Senates.
Invite and promote participation in the Beginning and End of Summer Celebration BBQs by bringing at least 30 people to these events.
Celebrate with us at Redmoon’s Pilsen warehouse at the October 3, 2014 launch festival. Redmoon will provide transportation.
Have an opportunity to enjoy the showcase of their work, organization, and efforts in the Great Chicago Fire Festival on October 4, 2014.
Designate a contact person who will be responsible for communications with Redmoon (estimated at 2 to 3 hours a week from January to October). They will attend meetings, give feedback about the process, and explore new partnerships, ideas and approaches to community dialogues during the process and after the Great Chicago Fire Festival.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

All CBOs (both loose groups of individuals and more formal nonprofit partnerships) can apply to be a part of the inauguration of the Great Chicago Fire Festival. We are looking for a diverse array of applicants, including by not limited to: Church groups, Neighborhood Organizations, Local Arts Organizations, and Parent Boards at Schools.

PROPOSALS will be limited to two pages to include the answers to the questions listed below. The proposal should clearly answer the following questions:

Paint us a picture of your community: who lives there? What is the culture like?
What excites you about being a part of the Great Chicago Fire Festival?
Please provide us with a brief description of your organization. What do you do? Where are you located? What communities do you work with? How big is your organization? What are your existing programs and partners?
How many people do you reach? Who are the people you reach? What are your existing networks? How do you reach them?
If we were to have an event in your ward, how would you promote is through your organization? What are the steps you would take to get community members to the event?
What is the primary mode of communication for the members of your ward, regarding community issues? (Town hall meetings, open mics, parent board discussions, meetings held by an alderman…)
Not required but preferred is a letter of Aldermanic support.

Please submit proposals in a word document to Proposals@Redmoon.org by December 19th, 2013. Redmoon will carefully evaluate proposals before passing them on to an external civic committee comprised of leading individuals from Chicago. Final decision will be made, and organizations notified mid-January, 2013. Questions can be directed to Fatimah Asghar (fasghar@redmoon.org).

About Redmoon

Redmoon's mission is to transform the experience of Chicago through free large-scale theatrical events that promote community, creativity and an empowered democracy. Redmoon burst into Chicago’s cultural consciousness with its award-winning production of Moby Dick in 1995. While the indoor productions continued to receive critical acclaim and popular support, Jim Laskochose to focus the theater’s energy outdoors, where Redmoon sought to deploy spectacle to bridge difference and transform the ways that people see and understand public spaces. Over the past 23 years, Redmoon has become a highly valued Chicago institution with its high-profile collaborations, vibrant outdoor performances and authentic community partnerships. In 2009, Lasko joined forces with long-time collaborator Frank Maugeri to co-lead Redmoon as it garnered international attention for its unique productions, site-specific performances and participatory events. Since 1991, Redmoon has performed for more than 250,000 people in 30 different neighborhoods in 116 public spaces.

For more information on Redmoon and its programs, visit www.redmoon.org.

Keywords: Great Chicago Fire Festival, Redmoon Theatre