City project leaves Columbia scrambling for new festival site

When Columbia College puts the official schedule for its end-of-year festival in the mail this week, the site of the annualcelebration of student work will simply say: to be announced.

That's because as of Friday, officials at the South Loop schoolweren't sure where the May 22 festival, expected to draw at least10,000 people, will be held.

They paid $5,000 for a permit from the Chicago Park District tohold it in Grant Park between 10th and 11th streets and Michigan, asite the district had suggested last year. But earlier this month, acollege staffer noticed the site was now a construction zone for acity project to build a pedestrian walkway over the Metra tracks andunder Columbus.

The snag had Chicago Park District and college officialsscrambling to find a new site for the event last week, less than amonth before the big day.

Park District spokeswoman Angelynne Amores admitted the permitshould not have been given to the school but said the festival willmost likely be held just a few blocks north on Michigan. Permits forthat site, however, won't be finalized until this week.

"It was a bureaucratic snafu," said Mark Kelly, Columbia's vicepresident for student affairs.

Thom Johnson, assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department ofTransportation, said his department was unaware the site had beenpromised to festival planners. Construction on the $18 millionproject began Jan. 19.

"This wasn't on anybody's radar screen," he said.

Despite the last-minute problems, planning for Columbia'sfestival, called Manifest, began shortly after a similar showcaselast May. It features artwork, photography, poetry and musicalperformances by hundreds of students.

In October, Columbia met with the Mayor's Office of Special Eventsand the Park District and asked to hold the event at the site whereChicago SummerDance is held, 601 S. Michigan, across the street froma main Columbia building. But since the dance stage still needed tobe erected there, the Park District suggested holding Manifest justsouth on Michigan between 10th and 11th streets.

But after that the time line for a proposed project to build thewalkway and underpass was accelerated, Amores said. In March, a ParkDistrict worker, not realizing the construction had begun and thesite was now fenced off, issued the permit to Columbia, Amores said.

Columbia continued to make arrangements for the 10th Street site.In addition to eight student bands, the school booked three worldmusic acts, including Los Cojolites, whose music was featured in themovie "Frida."

The school placed an announcement in 50,000 copies of a campusmagazine with the event's original location, Kelly said. But then a staffer saw the construction equipment and the school called the ParkDistrict.

The school held off issuing a press release on the event. But withonly a few weeks before the event, Columbia sent the officialschedule of events to a printer Friday. They will mail 15,000 copiesto alumni, friends of the university and others--but with no specificsite named.