Request for Proposals - Great Chicago Fire Festival In October 2014, the inaugural Great Chicago Fire Festival will introduce an annual urban ritual to our city, in the form of a massive citywide event celebrating Chicago’s powerful spirit of resilience. The Great Chicago Fire Festival is a project of Redmoon Theater Company, in partnership with the City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Redmoon’s mission is to transform the experience of our city through free large-scale theatrical events that promote community, creativity, and an empowered democracy. The building blocks of The Great Chicago Fire Festival will come from the city’s neighborhoods. In 2014, the Festival will start with 15 aldermanic wards, with the number growing in subsequent years. Redmoon will determine these aldermanic wards on the basis of interest from this RFP process, as well as working with our core partners: the Chicago Park District, Family Focus, Cure Violence, and Young Chicago Authors. Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) selected to be a part of the Fire Festival will receive free arts programming, as described below. This is the chance to get in on the ground floor of this new city festival, and we need great organizations to apply! **READ THE FULL PROPOSAL DOCUMENT.** THE PROJECT: Designing a large-scale festival that celebrates Chicago’s unique character and spirit of resilience by showcasing its diverse communities. From the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire to Millennium Park’s spectacular emergence out of the old rail yards, the epic story of Chicago has been a story of destruction and renewal. Drawing on this rich history, the Fire Festival will be a ‘signature event’, reflecting Chicago’s true nature so genuinely that it becomes a cultural and economic beacon for its citizens, the nation, and the world. The festival’s major activities will occur in three parts: 1) Sidewalk Senates in 15 aldermanic wards over the course of Summer 2014. Sidewalk Senates will gather communities for arts activities that are designed to discover and tell the stories of each ard. The Senates will include 6 – 8 months of events for CBOs selected through this application process and events open to the public; 2) A River procession from Chinatown to Wacker Drive during the day of Saturday October 4, 2014; and 3) a Grand Spectacle that evening from State to Columbus Avenue, that will draw tens of thousands to the banks of the Chicago River. Drawing on elements of a fashion show, the Grand Spectacle will include live music, spectacular performances, and a watery parade of artwork from the 15 aldermanic wards down the Chicago River. It will culminate in a grand showcase on the downtown riverfront. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: This festival aims to celebrate and support the spirit of resilience in organizations and individuals throughout the city. In order to be a partner in the Fire Festival, CBOs must be able to demonstrate the ability to bring community members to events and promote the programming of the Great Chicago Fire Festival through their existing networks. CBOs must: 1. Enthusiastically partner with Redmoon and other partner organizations during the Sidewalk Senates and throughout the Summer 2014 and the GCFF, to bring at least 10 community members to the Sidewalk Senates. 2. Foster local economies by dispersing Redmoon posters, email blasts, and social media announcements that promote lead off events in exchange for arts programming through our Sidewalk Senates. 3. Invite and promote participation in the Beginning and End of Summer Celebration BBQs by bringing at least 30 people to these events. 4. Celebrate with us at Redmoon’s Pilsen warehouse at the October 3, 2014 launch festival. Redmoon will provide transportation. 5. Have an opportunity to enjoy the showcase of their work, organization, and efforts in the Great Chicago Fire Festival on October 4, 2014 6. Designate a contact person who will be responsible for communications with Redmoon (estimated at 2 to 3 hours a week from January to October). They will attend meetings, give feedback about the process, and explore new partnerships, ideas and approaches to community dialogues during the process and after the Great Chicago Fire Festival WHO CAN APPLY? All CBOs (both loose groups of individuals and more formal nonprofit partnerships) can apply to be a part of the inauguration of the Great Chicago Fire Festival. We are looking for a diverse array of applicants, including by not limited to: Church groups, Neighborhood Organizations, Local Arts Organizations, and Parent Boards at Schools. PROPOSALS will be limited to two pages to include the answers to the questions listed below. The proposal should clearly answer the following questions: 1. Paint us a picture of your community: who lives there? What is the culture like? 2. What excites you about being a part of the Great Chicago Fire Festival? 3. Please provide us with a brief description of your organization. What do you do? Where are you located? What communities do you work with? How big is your organization? What are your existing programs and partners? 4. How many people do you reach? Who are the people you reach? What are your existing networks? How do you reach them? 5. If we were to have an event in your ward, how would you promote is through your organization? What are the steps you would take to get community members to the event? 6. What is the primary mode of communication for the members of your ward, regarding community issues? (Town hall meetings, open mics, parent board discussions, meetings held by an alderman…) 7. Not required but preferred is a letter of Aldermanic support. Please submit proposals in a word document to [email protected] by December 19th, 2013. Redmoon will carefully evaluate proposals before passing them on to an external civic committee comprised of leading individuals from Chicago. Final decision will be made, and organizations notified mid-January, 2014. Questions can be directed to Fatimah Asghar ([email protected]). Deadline or Post Expiration: Saturday, December 20, 2014 Contact Name: Fatimah Asghar Contact Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 22:55:55 +0000
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