Summer of Hope Recap
From weekends spent on Lake Michigan at Summerfest in Milwaukee to the crisp air conditioned showroom floor at C2E2 in Chicago, this summer has been one for the books. As our Summer of Hope comes to a close, we wanted to show you how it looked from our lens.
We started off the summer in two places at once — Country Fest in Cadott, WI and Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI.
One team yee-haw-ed the weekend away at Country Fest meeting with festival goers from all over who came to camp out and see their favorite artists. We chatted with folks in the finest cowboy hats and boots about mental health and the things that bring them hope.
At the same time, another team was starting the conversation about mental health at the biggest music festival in the world, Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI. We connected with festival-goers of all ages and asked the age-old question, “what gives you hope?”
The answer took the form of a Scrabble board.
From owls and giraffes to love and trust, Summerfest attendees shared the parts of their lives that bring them joy and hope. A recurring theme was music — unsurprising given the setting was, in fact, a music festival. Many said that music gives them hope and some musicians even got in on the action.
Milwaukee-based band The Keystones rocked a Hope for the Day wristband while rocking out during their set at Summerfest.
After three weekends at Summerfest, it was time to head back up to Cadott, WI. The home of Country Fest was also the host of Rock Fest.
Rain or shine we were ready to rock and roll with the attendees. Rock Fest welcomed our message and our merch with open arms. It was a pleasure to see people we befriended on day one wearing our merch by day three.
Soon enough it was time to head back to Chicago to close out this leg of our Summer of Hope with two wildly different events — Lollapalooza and C2E2.
For our fourth year back at Lollapalooza in Grant Park we welcomed guests to the Hope Motel — where it’s ok not to be ok 24/7.
Attendees could check in, relax, and get a temporary tattoo to remind themselves and others that “it’s ok not to be ok.” Before checking out of the Hope Motel, fest goers also had the opportunity to sign our guest book and share what gives them hope.
Finally after a long summer in the sun, we got to take a break from the heat for C2E2, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. It was game-on at the 3-day event taking place at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago as attendees arrived dressed head-to-toe as their favorite characters. We welcomed comic connoisseurs and anime aficionados to our booth to hand out wristbands and resource cards.
So far this summer we’ve traveled over two thousand miles to come meet you all — that’s about the same as the drive from Chicago to L.A. and the summer isn’t over yet! We’re still looking forward to an exciting September where we’ll see you at Four Chord in Pittsburgh, PA, Furnace Fest in Birmingham, AL, and our very own Hope Ball in our hometown of Chicago.
We've loved every second of getting to meet all you wonderful people who support our mission. We can’t wait to see what the rest of this season holds and to continue spreading hope with you.
