There were complaints, concessions and for awhile it wasn’t a sure thing that “Chicago” would host another Electric Daisy Carnival after the inaugural event, held this May in Joliet at the Joliet Motor Speedway, ran into some interference from the community. After announcing yesterday that the fest generated an estimated $26.1 million for the surrounding community, according to data released today in an economic impact analysis by Beacon Economics LLC, some feelings may have changed. There are few festivals like an EDC, which lives up to its name by featuring a plethora of rides, entertainment and euphoria outside of the traditional DJ sets. Strategically set an hour south of Chicago, so as to skirt the city’s 10 PM noise curfew, the festival went late into the night, beginning at 4 PM and wrapping up half a day later at 4 AM which made for quite the marathon of EDM. The first night was marked by a 2 AM firework show that had people from surrounding town peppering their local police stations with angry phone calls, prompting organizers Insomnia Events to move the fireworks up to 10 and bump the sound down for the later sets. The rest of EDC Chicago went off with few hitches and the announcement of the stimulus it brought the south suburbs of Chicago should be reason enough for organizers and city officials to find some common ground for the 2014 edition.
