Events
The park has been the site of many large civic events. In 1911, it hosted the major Chicago International Aviation Meet. In 1959, to celebrate the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and a related Interntional Trade Fair, Elizabeth II, disembarked here from the Royal Yacht Britannia, giving "Queens Landing" its name. The park was the scene of clashes between Chicago Police and demonstrators during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Pope John Paul II celebrated an outdoor mass to a large crowd here in 1979. Championship celebrations for the Chicago Bulls were staged here during the 1990s. The park was the location for President Barack Obama's Election Day victory speech on the night of November 4, 2008.
Annually, the park hosts some of Chicago's biggest festivals including The Taste of Chicago—a large food and music festival held each summer; the Grant Park Music Festival; Chicago Jazz Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival. The park is also the site of the start and finish lines of the Chicago Marathon.
Since 2005, Lollapalooza, a popular series of rock concerts has taken place in the park. Lollapalooza is under contract to be staged at Grant Park through 2018.
Read more about this topic: Grant Park (Chicago)
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“The great events of life often leave one unmoved; they pass out of consciousness, and, when one thinks of them, become unreal. Even the scarlet flowers of passion seem to grow in the same meadow as the poppies of oblivion.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)