Tweeting at the Chosen Few DJs house reunion picnic this past weekend was a wash. Why? Because 30,000 people were apparently all using their cell phones at the same time, and as a result, I couldn’t even get a text message out, let alone a tweet. Good thing that everyone else – including myself – late-posted their pictures and video, or I wouldn’t have the below story (scroll down several graphs for video and tweets) to send over to you.
What’s interesting to note is that although Chicago saw a fairly violent July 4th weekend, none of the shooting took place at the music festival, which, according to the Chicago Park District, saw some 30,000 visitors. And those were just the people who got in. (There were hundreds more trolling the outskirts of the fenced Jackson Park area, begging for tickets and wristbands.)
In fact, the organizers go even further to say that there were “no reported incidences of crime” at the July 5, 2014 event. They estimate their crowd to be “in excess of 2013’s crowd of 45,000.”
Chosen Few DJ (and local attorney) Alan King explains it this way: The nature of house music and house music culture is focused on love, dancing and togetherness. I think it’s this, along with the family reunion atmosphere and the priority we place on safety and security, that explains the peaceful nature of the picnic even as the event continues to grow.
There you have it. Plus, in related music news, R. Kelly also got on stage at the picnic, sang a bar or two and said he was making a house music album. Scroll down for video and more tweets.
[View the story “Some 30,000 attend the #chosenfew House Reunion picnic” on Storify]— Adrienne Samuels Gibbs
