Uptown Rhythm Festival
September 19, 2026
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Located in Uptown, Chicago, Illinois.
Haymarket House
800 West Buena Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
FESTIVAL LOGISTICS
Please bring your own food, and drinks
Due to limited parking, consider taking rideshare or public transportions
2026 URF Schedule
(Coming Soon)
One rhythm. One earth. One community.
Uptown Rhythm Festival is where tradition meets transformation. Join us in Chicago’s vibrant Uptown neighborhood for a powerful day of dance, rhythm, and climate action. Experience performances that move your body and stir your soul—while inspiring us all to protect the planet we love.
This isn’t just a festival. It’s a movement.
Experience. Engage. Embrace.
Join us for an unforgettable celebration of rhythm and unity at Uptown Rhythm Festival.
Experience a melting pot of dance genres, as diverse as the crowd it attracts. Engage and support local artists and sustainability leaders, each bringing a unique flavor to the stage. Embrace the vibrant energy that unites us all with the rhythms of nature.
Performances
Artists hailing from all parts of the world who call Uptown their home
Workshops
Learn a new rhythm, a new dance, a new movement
Yoga
Gentle Yoga on the lake
Dedications
Dedicate a thought, an act, a discussion to Nature
Meet The Organizers
Shiwali
Shiwali founded the Uptown Rhythm Festival in 2022 to put dance to work. A lifelong Kathak dancer, she built URF on the belief that rhythm can do something special — slow people down, connect them to the earth under them and living beings around them, and make climate consciousness a daily habit rather than an abstract worry. Her conviction is that behavior follows story: people don't change because they're handed facts, they change when the stories they live by change. So she uses dance to tell the stories of now — and to gather the kind of aware, supportive community that turns those stories into everyday choices. Outside the festival, she spends her working life building and advising companies through change; URF is where that same work takes a different form.
Jui Ryu
Jui is an art lover who believes that creativity is most powerful when it fosters peace and human connection. She is someone who truly enjoys exploring the different perspectives found within a diverse city and remains humble and open to learning from every person she encounters. This people-centered approach guides her current work as a manager at a senior center in the Chicago suburbs. Jui’s career path reflects her dedication; she rose through the ranks in Seoul’s broadcasting and international dance festival industries before moving to the U.S. with her partner. With a degree in Business Administration and a heart for community service, she has proudly supported global arts initiatives, from the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival to the Wisconsin Film Festival.
Amy Johnston
Amy is an Uptown-based Irish artist and Uptown Rhythm fest organizer of three years. Amy’s work weaves art and activism, using creativity as a bridge to unite communities knowledge around climate justice. Using found and recycled materials, not only reduces waste but also inspires others to see everyday objects as powerful tools for living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Her approach encourages inclusivity—welcoming people from diverse backgrounds to reflect on their own environmental impact and to express their stories through eco-conscious art.
Amy’s roles as an artist, art instructor and a Uptown Rhythm fest organizer have nourished her commitment to grassroots community building and sustainability, inspiring people to rethink consumption, waste, and their connection with the planet.
RSVP
RSVP for classes, workshops and special events and skip the line.
Participate
Interested in exhibiting or teaching? Let us know and someone will reach out.
