c · Stage showsYoung performers open for local and major artists
d · Festival daysJuneteenth, Caribbean independence days and more
e · Holiday partiesFall and winter family nights, indoors
Proposed calendar, prepared for Ms. Ivry Ector and the Rainbow Beach Park team
Proposed calendar · Rainbow Beach Park, Chicago Park District
Every part is free · Every date is confirmed with park staff before it is announced
The year at a glance
Twelve months at Rainbow Beach
Ms. Ector, thank you for sitting down with us on October 7. This is the full year we would like to build with Rainbow Beach Park: classes in the fieldhouse through the winter and fall, a season of family music nights on the beach in summer, and a celebration for every season in between. Each date below is a proposal until park staff confirm it, and every stage show and festival day gets its own Special Event Permit.
Stephen Henry, President, Ras Tafari Inc. · (872) 255-9333
January Winter
Jan 9 DJ Lab Open House
Tue, Jan 12 Rainbow DJ Lab opens (Tuesdays, 4–6 pm)
Jan 18 MLK Day of Service
February Black History Month
Wednesdays four listening nights
Saturdays Remix the Record
Feb 13 Lovers Rock Valentine’s
Feb 27 The Journey Set
March Women’s History
All month women DJs lead every class
Mar 27 Empress Decks Showcase
April Spring
Apr 1–30 open call for young performers
Apr 10, 17, 24 spring workshops
Apr 24 Earth Day Beach Cleanup
May Spring
May 18 Spring Rainbow Showcase
May 22 dress rehearsal on the beach
By May 28 June lineups
June Summer
Jun 2 Rainbow Wednesdays open
Jun 19 Juneteenth
Wednesdays on the beach
July Summer
Jul 1 International Reggae Day
Jul 24 SelassieFest 2027
Wednesdays on the beach
August Summer
Aug 1 Belize Day
Aug 6 Jamaica 65
Aug 17 Marcus Garvey Festival
Aug 31 Trinidad & Tobago
September Finale
Sep 1 The Rainbow Crown
Date TBD end-of-summer festival
Season report to the park
October Fall
Tuesdays DJ Lab, year-round
Oct. 31 Kids Kostume Party, Halloween evening
November Fall
Early Nov Icons Party
Before Thanksgiving Thanks & Giving
December Holidays
Holiday Steppers’ Set
Christmas Party & Grand Market
Kwanzaa Kuumba Night
Dec 31 Noon Year’s Eve
Indoors in the fieldhouse: October–MayOn the beach: June–SeptemberAll ages · alcohol-free · clean lyrics only
One neighborhood, every generation, all year
Winter · in the fieldhouse
A new year on the decks
January · February
Rainbow DJ Lab, Tuesdays in the fieldhouse
January
Open the doors
Sat, Jan 91–3 pm
DJ Lab Open House. Try the decks, meet the teachers and sign up for the Rainbow DJ Lab. Starter controllers on hand for anyone without equipment.
Tue, Jan 12Tuesdays, 4–6 pm
Rainbow DJ Lab opens, year-round. Every Tuesday in the fieldhouse game room, except federal-holiday weeks and CPS spring break: 39 class dates in 2027. Every child gets their own deck, two lead instructors teach, and a woman guest DJ visits each week. Join any week and work at your own pace through the 42-skill Passport. The full Tuesday schedule →
Mon, Jan 18
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: Dream Decks. A morning service project with neighbors, then a family set of freedom songs and Dr. King’s words.
February
Black History Month & Valentine’s
Four Wednesday listening nights carry the music from spirituals to Afrobeats, while families build their own songs on Saturdays. It all comes together in the Journey Set on February 27. Tap a night for its full DJ setlist.
Wednesday listening nightsRemix the Record, Saturdays
Remix the Record, session 1: Find your story. Black History Month research with AI, led by Albert Harris. Each family team picks one person, place and moment.
Sat, Feb 131–3 pm
Session 2: Check it, then write it. The two-source rule; two songs per topic, “The Story” and “The Echo.”
Sat, Feb 13evening
Lovers Rock Valentine’s Party. Lovers rock and Chicago soul love songs for couples, families and elders; kids make valentines for seniors.
Sat, Feb 201–3 pm
Session 3: Make the tracks. Songs become tracks; DJ students set the running order.
Sat, Feb 275–8 pm
The Journey Set. DJs mix every team’s songs into one set that travels through Black history in order.
All ages. Children under 13 work in a family team with a grown-up at the keyboard. Wednesday listening nights run about 90 minutes in the fieldhouse; every track is a clean edit and every artist is credited on screen with title and country.
Empress Decks. Women DJs lead every class in March.
Sat, Mar 275–8 pm
Empress Decks Showcase. Girls from the DJ Lab play alongside women DJs from Chicago’s house, reggae and hip-hop scenes.
April
The open call
Apr 1 – 30
Open call for Rainbow Wednesdays. Youth DJs and young instrumentalists (ages 12–24) send a short mix or phone video. Shared through the park, schools, churches, libraries and social media.
Sat, Apr 10, 17, 241–3 pm
Spring workshops 1–3 (free): beatmatching and blending; building a set; live looping and editing.
Sat, Apr 2410 am – noon
Earth Day Beach Cleanup. Neighbors and families clean Rainbow Beach to a youth DJ set.
May
Spring Showcase
Tue, May 184–6 pm
Spring Rainbow Showcase. Students who have earned their colors play for their families, including the After School Matters teen section; Passport certificates handed out.
Sat, May 1 & 81–3 pm
Spring workshops 4–5: playing with live instruments; the Theme Clash (wordplay and genre-mixing).
Sat, May 221–3 pm
Spring workshop 6: Dress rehearsal on the beach. Sound check and a full run-through on the Rainbow Wednesdays spot.
By Fri, May 28
June lineups announced. A featured DJ, a neighbor and a music educator choose the Youth Showcase performers.
Spring Rainbow Showcase, May 18
Summer · on the beach
Rainbow Wednesdays
June · July · August · September
Fourteen free family nights, 6:00–8:30 pm, one color each week. Open Decks for young DJs, a featured Chicago DJ and a Youth Showcase every night. On the first Wednesday of each month the music starts at 7:00 pm.
Season Finale: The Rainbow CrownViolet + full spectrum · 7 pm start
Live stage shows, June–September. On selected evenings, class graduates and young performers open for local and major artists. Each show has its own date set with park staff and its own Special Event Permit. A girl opens every show.
Every Wednesday: setup from 5:00 pm, cleared by 9:00 pm.
Festival days · summer
Heritage on the lakefront
June – September
Festival and heritage days (proposed)
Sat, Jun 19
Juneteenth
Thu, Jul 1
International Reggae Day
Sat, Jul 24
SelassieFest 2027(venue to be confirmed). The July 21 Rainbow Wednesday is its warm-up.
Sun, Aug 1
Belize Day(first Sunday in August)
Fri, Aug 6
Jamaica 65: Jamaican Independence
Tue, Aug 17 approx.
Marcus Garvey Festival
Tue, Aug 31
Trinidad & Tobago Independence
September date TBD
End-of-summer Full Spectrum festival
Summer date TBD
SelassieFest community day at Rainbow Beach
Fall & holidays · back in the fieldhouse
Parties for every season
October · November · December
Tuesdays4–6 pm
DJ Lab continues. Year-round in the fieldhouse game room; students DJ the holiday parties, and the year-end Rainbow Showcase is Tue, Dec 14.
Oct. 31, evening
Kids Kostume Party
Early November
Icons Party. Prince, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and Chicago legends; young DJs remix the classics.
Before Thanksgiving
Thanks & Giving. A potluck and food drive honoring elders.
Early December
Holiday Steppers’ Set. Chicago steppin’, a South Side tradition.
Mid-December
Christmas Party & Grand Market
Dec 26 – 31
Kwanzaa Kuumba Night
Fri, Dec 31midday
Noon Year’s Eve. A family countdown to noon, with kid DJs.
Working with Rainbow Beach Park
How every date comes to life
Full Spectrum is designed to make the park’s job easier, not harder. Here is what Ras Tafari Inc. brings to every date.
Confirmed with you first
Nothing is announced until park staff confirm the date and the space. Stage shows and festival days each get their own Special Event Permit.
Free for every family
Every class, Wednesday, festival day and party is free. Starter controllers are lent to anyone who doesn’t have equipment.
Family-safe, every time
All ages and alcohol-free, with clean lyrics only (radio edits). Youth programs follow the published Rainbow DJ Lab safety policies.
In and out on time
On the beach, setup starts at 5:00 pm and the area is cleared by 9:00 pm. We bring the sound, the crew and the production management.
Girls on every stage
Empress Decks classes are taught by women DJs, and a girl opens every live stage show.
A report back to the park
Each season ends with a written report: attendance, performers, girls’ participation and audience reach.
Let’s build the year together.
Each part starts when it is funded and scheduled with park staff. We would be glad to walk through any date, move anything that doesn’t fit the park’s calendar, and add what the neighborhood asks for.
Rainbow DJ Lab, Tuesdays in the fieldhouse
