Venetian Kayak Night in South Shore

Venetian Kayak Night in South Shore was a success.  Thank you to all the beautiful, elegant neighbors who showed up and supported this event.

To the phenomenal Isaiah Collier  & his band-that sound is unleashed now, traveling across our beautiful lake. Jazz can’t be stopped. It’s here to live, breathe, and belong on our shores

Thank you to all our kayakers for lighting up the water, and on behalf of the Rainbow Beach Park Advisory Council, our commitment to bringing more kayaking to the lakefront continues-especially for our youth. The goal: to deepen our community’s connection to the lake that defines us.

Due to the drama that occurred with the permit, we couldn’t incorporate all aspects of this event we had hoped for. But next year, definitely do expect more educational components-like sharing Underground Railroad stories, where freedom seekers often followed the stars and waterways. Our illuminated kayaking event can be more than a spectacle-it can become a floating narrative of liberation, a moving constellation upon the lake. It’s important to imagine all things we can be.

We hope the process will go smoothly with our Chicago Park District partners next year. This was a learning opportunity for all of us.

And finally, thank you to our wonderful host Norman’s Bistro on the Lake  - this is becoming an institution we can all be proud of.

South Shore, we’re on the map-and we’re not going anywhere. We will keep paddling forward, lights on the water, stories in the air, carrying music and memory toward horizons that have always been ours