Welcome to The Daily’s photo blog: Captured. This is a space for The Daily’s photographers to share their best work, including photos from weekend performances and events around the community. You can contact the photo editor by emailing [email protected].
Evanston launched the first joint concert of its Summer Sounds series last Thursday July 11 with the annual Thursday Night Market series, offering an eclectic summer experience. Local funk ‘n rock band Chicken Bone cruised through a nearly two-and-a-half hour set.
The Thursday Night Market, in its fifth year of bringing Chicagoland artisans and small businesses to Fountain Square, saw around 1000 attendees, according to Downtown Evanston Executive Director Andy Vick. Many vendors are recruited just through “word of mouth,” Downtown Evanston director of marketing Laura Brown said, spreading through local artist groups. Other businesses are returning, like Evanston-based Ayla’s Originals, located at 1511 Sherman Ave., who’s attended for all five years.
Joe Pizzo, co-owner of Ayla’s Originals, started working at this Evanston staple after the pandemic, which was started by his wife, Ayla, 28 years ago. Pizzo and his store were actually invited by Downtown Evanston to sell their beaded jewelry at the market. Pizzo says that the market aids in visibility, making more residents aware of “what we do and how we can help people.”
Pizzo teaches classes at the storefront, helping people fix their broken jewelry while making it “their own style or size,” something he considers one of the most enjoyable aspects of the business.
Alongside the vendors, Chicken Bone, a longtime Evanston favorite and the first performer of the Summer Sounds series, played up a storm for the crowd — with fans of all ages on their feet and dancing for most of the performance.
“The best part of it is that they’re all Evanston locals, so it seemed like a great group to kick off the series this year,” said Vick, longtime friend of Evanston native Dan Kanter, the lead guitarist of the band.
While Vick selected Chicken Bone to perform, Downtown Evanston collaborates with a different local nonprofit in selecting each musical artist to ensure community input.
Summer Sounds also hosted food trucks from C&W Market and Ice Cream Parlor, 5411 Empanadas and Soul & Smoke, as well as a bar with beer from Sketchbook Brewing Co. and wine and cocktails from Five & Dime. Brown and Vick both hope to increase visibility of Fountain Square and to “bring people together,” Brown said.
Summer Sounds, as an initiative to help fulfill the Evanston Thrives Retail District Action Plan goals, aims to build programming to respond to community need.
“Just under a year ago, I heard over and over again, from people who said there used to be music in downtown, ‘We love it, this is an art filled community, we need more live music, can you bring music back?’,” Vick said.
Arlington Heights artist Suge Lim and her brand heysooj sell stationery, prints, cards and illustrations. After getting laid off at her corporate job in April, Lim focused full-time on her art, which was previously a hobby.
“I noticed I started to get envious of other people having their own business, and I was like ‘Why can’t I do that?’ but I was like ‘Ok maybe I should try it,’” she said.
Lim decided to apply for the market after hearing about it from fellow artists, only getting accepted the night before the market.
Selling at pop-up events, like at Thursday Night Markets, gives Lim confidence in her work to continue her art as a full-time business, while simultaneously allowing herself to not treat art “like a burden.”
Similarly, Chicago-based artist Samantha Kuelbs and her upcycling brand Greenly Goods also applied from hearing about it on a vendor’s group chat, until she got invited the night before. Kuelbs and her signature basketball plants first got their start at the Chicago Vintage Festival when she only had 10 followers, before venturing into other pop-ups in and around the city.
Now with around 500 followers, she loves being a part of a new community as well as giving upcycling a new meaning with her funky flora.
“I always have a goal for myself, for people to leave happy, to leave in a smile,” she said. “Either way they’re not leaving with something or buying anything, I still want them to be like ‘Oh my god that’s so awesome.”
The next joint Summer Sounds and Thursday Night Markets event will be on August 1st, with performances from Nathan Graham.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @shreyasrin
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