In news that came out of nowhere (unless you live there), Chicago has officially announced that they will be banning smoking, including e-cigarette or vaporizers, at all 580 city parks including those places that festivals like this upcoming weekend’s Riot Fest call home.
The surprise decision was made yesterday by the Chicago Park District’s Board of Commissioners. However, if you had plans to smoke at Riot Fest this weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that officers will not be ticketing attendees at the weekend-long event due to take place at Chicago’s Humboldt Park.
Chicago Park District Superintendent Mike Kelly reassured attendees the new law will not go into effect so quickly.
“People at Riot Fest this weekend, they don’t need to worry about…a man tapping on their shoulder and saying, ‘You’re under arrest.’ That’s not the point of this. It’s about awareness. It’s about people taking the dangers of smoking seriously and making their own choices.”
“I don’t see in the foreseeable future police with a ticketbook at Lollapalooza walking around, writing tickets. That’s not what this is about.” Kelly added.
Riot Fest Chicago is slated to take place this weekend, Sept. 13-14 with a long list of artists set to take the place.
Earlier this week, festival organizers revealed that Cheap Trick will be the tenth and final artist to perform one of their albums, in full, in honor of the festival’s tenth anniversary.
For a full list of set times, click here.
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