For the last 12 years, all of us at The Pitchfork Music Festival have been honored to contribute to the cultural life of Chicago, one of the greatest cities in the world. We take seriously our commitment to this community—not just for three days every July, but all through the year. And like all Chicagoans, we’re deeply troubled by our city’s tragic gun violence. This year, we’re proud to partner with Everytown for Gun Safety and Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK) on an initiative that will make a difference.
Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, fighting for public safety measures that help to save lives while respecting the Second Amendment. MASK is a community group that works block by block in city neighborhoods. This summer we hope to energize our community and create an enduring platform that will spotlight individuals and organizations working to reduce gun violence, amplify their voices, and empower our fans to join their ranks.
Hadiya Pendleton was 15 years old when she was shot and killed in Chicago, just days after performing in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. To honor her life, Hadiya’s friends and family began wearing orange, the color that hunters wear to protect themselves in the woods. That simple act has become the cornerstone of a movement.
Now, Hadiya’s birthday, June 2nd, is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. On that day, along with our partners, the Pitchfork Music Festival will Wear Orange to celebrate Hadiya’s birthday and honor the 93 Americans who die every day from gun violence and the hundreds more who are injured. We’ll join the Wear Orange coalition’s social media campaign and invite our fans and the artists playing the Festival to do the same.
In the spirit of unity and community, we’re proud to be joined in this effort by other major events that help define summer in Chicago, including North Coast Music Festival, Spring Awakening, Mamby On the Beach, Riot Fest, Ruido Fest, West Fest, Food Truck Social, Wicker Park Fest, Green Music Fest, ChillFest and growing.
Together with Everytown for Gun Safety, we’ve established an online toolkit for any Chicago event or organization to join us, adding their support and representation in furthering the Wear Orange movement. Additionally, we encourage all of those attending and enjoying our events to wear orange and represent your love and concern for our community. If you would like to request more information on how your summer event can get partner with Everytown, please follow the link below.
Take ActionWe are collaborating with the Chicago Reader's Street View column to feature festival-goers who are dressed in orange to help raise awareness and to shine a light on some facts concerning Chicago gun violence.
Stop by the Everytown booth at Pitchfork to speak to Everytown Survivor Network members, local activists and volunteers about Everytown's work on a local and federal level, statistics on gun violence, our Everytown Survivor Network, and more.
We hope our effort can help all Chicagoans to engage with, support, and join the struggle against gun violence. Let’s join together and make this summer safe.
For questions and comments please visit ap-arts.com and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.