Philosophers at the Square Roots 2026 Festival in Chicago this Weekend

By the New Acropolis Chicago Team

Every summer, Lincoln Avenue closes to traffic and fills up with music, neighbors, food, and the particular kind of good mood that only a Chicago street festival seems to produce. This weekend, we get to be part of it. New Acropolis Chicago has a booth at Square Roots Festival, and we would love for you to stop by.

If you have walked past our doors in Ravenswood and wondered what a school of philosophy actually does, this is an easy way to find out. No sign-up, no pressure. Just come say hello.

A Little About Square Roots

Square Roots is one of the neighborhood's best traditions. It takes over Lincoln Square each July with live music across multiple stages, local craft beer, food from all over Chicagoland, a Kid Zone for families, and a market full of local makers and organizations. It is a genuinely community-run event, and the gate donations support two beloved Chicago nonprofits: the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and the Old Town School of Folk Music, which puts on music scholarships, farmers markets, artist residencies in public schools, and festivals like this one.

A real thank you goes to the organizers and volunteers who make Square Roots happen every year. Pulling together a festival this size takes an enormous amount of quiet work, and the neighborhood is better for it.

When and Where to Find Us

The festival runs all weekend on Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Wilson, easy to reach from the CTA Brown Line Western stop. Here are the hours:

Friday, July 10: 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Saturday, July 11: Noon to 10:00 PM

Sunday, July 12: Noon to 9:00 PM

We will be there all three days. We’re located on Sunnyside Ave and Leavitt St. (behind Sulzer Library, next to the kids zone)! Come talk philosophy, ask us about the Living Philosophy Course, grab something to read, or just introduce yourself. Some of the best conversations we have all year happen exactly like this, standing on a sidewalk with a neighbor we have not met yet.

In the words of our director, Gilad Sommer,

"For us, it's an opportunity to get to meet the Chicagoans in our neighborhood, to connect, to show interest, to hear them and to explain who we are, what a school of philosophy is, and what is its role in today's world, in 21st century Chicago. We always have a great time talking to people because people are honestly quite interesting when you get to know them."

Whether you are a longtime Lincoln Square regular or just wandering through for the music, we hope you will find us and say hi. We will be the ones happy to talk about the big questions between sets.

See you at the festival. And if you want to know more about what we do year-round, the first class is always free.

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New Acropolis Chicago is a nonprofit school of philosophy in the Ravenswood neighborhood. Square Roots Festival is organized by the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and the Old Town School of Folk Music. Festival details are accurate as of publication; see squareroots.org for the latest schedule.