“The primary commerce of art is a gift exchange,”  Lewis Hyde

Riot Fest is coming up in a few weeks, and it’s going to be a few blocks away from my apartment here in Humboldt Park.  As I was looking at the lineup the other day, I was excited to see that the performance art group Environmental Encroachment will be there. I met them 2 years ago, soon after I first moved to Chicagoland, and the experience was one of the highlights of my first summer here.

One day, I was leaving an art show on Milwaukee Avenue and heading towards the Damen Blue Line stop when I started to hear this amazing music. It sounded like George Clinton had decided to form a marching band. I started walking, almost running, towards the music. As I got closer, I saw a large crowd had gathered near the bar 6 Corners. As I made my way threw the mob, towards the wonderful music, I saw what looked like a group of carnival performers with a punk marching band. I saw jugglers, acrobats, and a marching band dressed in bunny ears.

I noticed my friend Kate, who was also part of the Interdisciplinary Arts & Media MFA program at Columbia, was playing flute. The audience loved it.  It was wild, exciting, and wonderfully playful.

I asked Kate what this was, and she said it was The Environmental Encroachment Magic Circus band. What a great name. That pretty much sums it all up.

The audience (including myself) loved it. Children (including myself) where dancing and singing, and all of this was a gift from these wonderful performers. They turned an ordinary environment into something special, an ordinary day into something exceptional. The band finished their songs, thanked us for stopping by to listen, and went on their way. As I continued my journey toward the Blue Line, I remember thinking, “I’m going to love Chicago”. Thanks Environmental Encroachment Magic Circus Band for the gift of your art.