New Riverwalk Event ‘Unifest’ Celebrates Chicago’s Sister Cities

Give yourself an excuse to stroll down Chicago’s beautifully revamped Riverwalk (as if you needed one) and stop by the city’s latest summer event series, Unifest on the River. Presented by Chicago Sister Cities International, Unifest is a celebration of the food, music, and varied alcoholic refreshments (including beer, red and white wines, and harder drinks) of seven of Chicago’s 28 sister cities across the globe.

The first Unifest event, happening this coming Thursday, July 13, is a veritable smorgasbord of international culture with French DJ music pumped out by DJ Sadie Woods and DJ Madrid, potent Polish vodka from Sobieski, South African red wine, Israeli white wine, a German poached shrimp dish known as Fischbrötchen, and sweet Greek baklava. For those with a plainer palette, Chicago favorites are also thrown in the mix, including our ever-famous caramel and cheddar popcorn and beers from Revolution Brewing Co.

Unifest is the latest promotional attraction for Chicago’s Riverwalk devised by Chicago city officials. The city finished a multimillion dollar revamp of the Riverwalk, which is now lined with public amenities including a theater, kayak dock, zero-depth fountain, floating gardens, and interactive nature area. There’s also a “floating museum art barge” coming to the Riverwalk, which will host “screenings, projections, exhibitions and participatory art”, according to the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Visitors to the Chicago Riverwalk will also find art installations from the relatively innocuous – a 12-foot-tall fiberglass deer titled “Deer” to the potentially provocative – a sculpture with the words “Real Fake” in a gaudy gold (aptly titled “Real Fake”) situated across from Trump International Hotel & Tower.

You can catch Unifest every Thursday between July 13 – August 17 from 4:30pm – 8:30pm at the recently reopened Riverwalk Jetty between Wells and Franklin. Admission is free (woo!) and you can buy drink/food tickets if you so desire. The full lineup schedule can be found at the official Unifest website.