Pitchfork Media hosted its 10th annual Pitchfork Music Festival at Chicago's Union Park from July 17 to 19. The independent music fest featured 46 acts including Wilco, Chance the Rapper, and Sleater-Kinney. Between sets, guests roamed the relatively small festival grounds to check out record, craft, and poster fairs; food and beer vendors; and activations from brands such as Ray-Ban, Whole Foods, and more. This year, several companies used participatory activities—from photo stations to temporary tattoos and games—to capture the attention of festivalgoers. Here's a look at 14 activations from the weekend.
Off site but near festival grounds, Soho House Chicago teamed up with food website and mobile app the Infatuation to host an Ice Cream Social for festivalgoers on Friday. The event included a complimentary D.I.Y. sundae bar, where toppings inspired by the hotel's eateries included melon, basil, and bits of apple pie.
Topman, the British fashion brand that has a store on Michigan Avenue, brought back its "Live Screen Printing" activation. Guests could customize T-shirts or tote bags with a variety of prints.
As in previous years—and as at other music festivals—guests waited in long lines to receive the custom tote bags and T-shirts.
Ray-Ban and Vice magazine teamed up on an another custom T-shirt activation—but guests could bypass the line by participating in a musical activity. Anyone who stepped into a live recording booth and sang along to Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar" got a pass to step right up to the station.
The T-shirts all said "Speak the Truth," and guests could customize the statements that were printed below. One guest elected to have printed: "I still have stuffed animals," while another chose, "I am in the fast lane following my dreams."
Several brands used games to engage Pitchfork-goers. Coffee brand Café Bustelo, for example, had a prize wheel at its Café Bustelo Experience. Depending on the section the wheel landed on, guests could take home branded sunglasses, fanny packs, or other goods. The activation was produced by BMF Media Group.
Dark Horse Wine also had a prize wheel at its tent in the V.I.P. area. Guests could win prizes including an entire case of wine.
On the festival's main grounds, the wine brand also had a tent where guests could apply silvery, temporary tattoos featuring Dark Horse's logo.
Local beer company Goose Island made custom periscopes, set back from the main stages, that let guests peer at the festival crowds near the stages.
Whole Foods hosted a miniature market selling fruits and other snacks on festival grounds. There was also a station with complimentary amenities such as sunscreen, hair ties and bobby pins, and scented sprays with labels such as "Mosh Pit Mint." A sign near the station read: "Refresh yourself before you wreck yourself."
Several brands created interactive photo opportunities. At one such activation, guests stuck their heads into a billboard advertising Lifeway Kefir. Nearby, the brand doled out free samples of its vanilla and green-tea-raspberry frozen Kefir bars.
Whole Foods' photo op let guests pose in bright frames that appeared to grow out of a garden box.
Who knew carpet samples could come in handy at a music festival? Chicago-based carpet company Flor handed out some 5,000 squares of carpet so that guests could make their own carpeted seating areas on the grass. When the weather turned stormy on Saturday, guests used the carpets to cover muddy spots on festival grounds.Â
Outside at a mini market, guests could design their own parasols to take along to the festival on the hot, sunny day.
