KAZOOZAPALOOZA 2025

PEDAL POWERED PROGRAM YEAR 4: THE BLACK MAN FROM MACON

AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THIS SUMMER

Boler Park
3601 W. Arthington St.
Saturday, July 26 from 1 -  2:30 p.m.
FREE

Marquette Park
6743 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago IL 60629
Saturday, August 9 from 1 -  2:30 p.m,
FREE

Chicago Live! At Navy Pier
600 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Saturday, September 20, 3:30p.m, with a bubble parade prior
FREE with a live performance by Lynne Jordan and band members

About the event

This bike-powered spectacle is presented in collaboration with Working Bikes, the School of the Art Institute, the Homan Square Neighborhood Association, the Chicago Climate Action Museum, the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, and the Chicago Park District. All events are FREE.

Kazoozapalooza Pedal Powered Program Year 4: The Black Man from Macon, is an outdoor interactive and participatory show written by Frank Maugeri, Lynne Jordan, Brandon Boler, Samarem Diaz-Negrete and Alexis Willis with illustrations by Mandy Newham-Cobb and engineered objects by Dustan Creech and Tom Robinson, and original music by Lynne Jordan, Gordon Middleton and Chicago saxophone player Michael Jackson.

This bike-powered panoramic celebratory spectacle shares the visual tale of Alabama Vest, the inventor of the Kazoo. Each guest receives a free kazoo and is invited to contribute to the show's musical score. Early attendees are invited to attend a S.T.E.A.M. workshop, where guests, young and old, can engineer their own mechanical, illustrated story.

collaborators

  • Lynne Jordan, primary collaborator

  • Gordon Middleton, songwriter

  • Brandon Boler, community collaborator

  • Dustan Creech, engineer

  • Tom Robinson, engineer

  • Alexis Willis, performance actress

  • Mandy Newhan-Cobb, illustrator

  • Frank Maugeri, Cabinet artistic director

  • Samarem Diaz-Negrete, Cabinet associate artistic director

  • Dayna Calderon, Chicago Park District representative

School of Celebration Summer 2025 students

  • Thanh Do

  • Lucca Duston

  • Nocturne Best

  • Olivia Gibson

Band members

  • Michael Jackson

  • Raymond Glower

  • Brady Williams

  • Matthew Skoller