Millennium Park Grand Opening July 16-18; Weekend Long Celebration Features Free Events and Performances

Chicagoans and visitors alike will celebrate the opening of the new Millennium Park with a three-day festival of free concerts, interactive activities, family entertainment, tours and more from July 16 to 18, 2004. The events will be presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Chicago Park District and underwritten by Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

“We have put together a series of events that’s as exciting and distinctive as the park, itself,” said Daley. “Millennium Park is a monumental achievement by the City and its philanthropic community. It is much more than a park; it is a showcase for the visual and performing arts and a tribute to the vitality and creativity of our city.”

The Grand Opening will kick off Friday, July 16, with a world premiere concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion that will feature a composition by the American composer, John Corigliano, commissioned for the occasion.

Other weekend events include:

• a sunrise workout featuring tai chi and yoga on the Great Lawn;
  
• a parade featuring performing groups from neighborhoods throughout the city;
  
• a large-scale illumination installation by Redmoon Theater;
  
• “Reflecting Chicago,” a concert showcasing Chicago’s diverse music scene;
  
• late-night music and dancing;
  
• a three-ring circus and workshops;
  
• tours led by Chicago Architecture Foundation docents departing every 30 minutes from locations throughout the park.
  

Bank One and JPMorgan Chase, which plan to merge later this year, each made grants to underwrite all costs of the events.

“We can think of no better way to celebrate the coming together of Bank One and JPMorgan Chase than to come together in support of Millennium Park,” said William M. Daley, Midwest Chairman of JPMorgan Chase. “This will be one of the biggest events Chicago has ever seen, and thanks to these grants the entire three-day celebration will be free of charge to both the public and to the City.”

“Bank One was a key contributor to Millennium Park from the outset, and we are delighted to be providing additional support now,” said Warren K. Chapman, President of the Bank One Foundation. “Whether you are a tourist or a resident, Millennium Park is one of the most extraordinary public spaces in the world. This Grand Opening will showcase all that the Park has to offer, while also saluting the people, cultures and arts organizations that make Chicago such a special place to live.”

An international destination that will showcase the city of Chicago to the world, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park is located in downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe streets. Its centerpiece will be the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States. The park will also be home to one of the world’s largest outdoor sculptures, Cloud Gate, by the British artist Anish Kapoor; the tradition-setting Lurie Garden designed by the team of Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, and Robert Israel; and the Crown Fountain designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.

Through September 30, visitors to the park can begin their experience at the Embrace Art Exhibition at the Chicago Tourism Center featuring Millennium Park Unveiled. This display traces the development of Millennium Park through models, drawings and plans offering visitors an exclusive look at how Chicago’s newest marvel came to be. Embrace Art Exhibition at the Chicago Tourism Center is located at 72 E. Randolph Street. Hours of the free exhibition are Mondays -Saturdays 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.

For more information about the Millennium Park Grand Opening events, visit www.millenniumpark.org or cal