Cops, Communities Prepare for Woodstars Festival

In preparations for a hastily planned hip-hop festival, authorities will descend upon Maywood in droves, arriving by police cruiser, ATV and horseback.

An estimated 20,000 people are expected pass through the four-day Woodstars Summer Carnival and Music Festival, which began Thursday and will run through Sunday at Proviso East High School, located at First Avenue between Washington and Madison streets.

Law enforcement officials across the Chicagoland area say they’ve been blindsided by short preparation time for the festival, which promises some of the biggest names in hip-hop such Nelly, Faith Evans and Naughty By Nature.

Earlier:

In River Forest, police say they’re mostly concerned about parking restrictions and keeping local roads clear in case of emergencies — plans they say are better laid well in advance of a major event. Deputy Chief Craig Rutz said the department first learned about the festival last Wednesday, prompting whirlwind preparations this week. More River Forest parking and street closure info.

“…It could take all of three minutes to make the streets impassable,” Rutz said. “These are issues that should have been addressed months ago.”

A spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff's Office complained the department only received a site plan and began discussing logistics with promoters on Monday. What's more, the department only found it was working the event on Thursday, according to the Forest Park Review.

Hillside Village Administrator Russ Wajda said organizers continued to shop for new venues for the event as recently as early July. Hillside trustees shot down their proposal to host the event at Proviso West High School at their July 6 meeting, citing traffic control and safety concerns.

“They said they wanted a better venue,” Wajda said. “That’s not enough time to cover all of the logistics for an event like this,” adding that a number of festival parking contracts were still pending.

The festival is mainly sponsored by the foundations of two Proviso East alumni, NBA veteran Michael Finley and Los Angeles Laker Shannon Brown. According to the festival's website, it’s intended to benefit both foundations, as well as District 209 schools.

IF YOU GO

Organizers are offering a wealth of ticket options, including individual concert sessions, all-day passes and weekend passes.

Tickets for Funtastic Cove children’s area, which is open throughout the festival along with the carnival, includes face painting, a balloonist, magic shows and a petting zoo, cost $25 per person, with discounts on Thursday and Friday for daycare and large groups.

A performance schedule is available on the official festival website.