Name: 26th Annual Calumet Heritage Conference
Start: 2025-10-04T10:00:00-05:00
Location: Blue Island Beer Company

The Calumet Heritage Partnership (CHP) has partnered with the Blue Island Historical Society to present the 26th annual Calumet Heritage Conference. CHP works with the Blue Island Historical Society year-round on architectural historic programming, as well as preservation advocacy efforts in the Region. We are thrilled to partner with them this year to bring you All Eyes on Main Street: Art, Architecture, and Community in the Calumet’s Urban Streetscapes. The conference theme is inspired by our host location of Blue Island, Illinois - defined by its intersecting modes of transportation, rich diversity of urban forms, and evolution of land use. Blue Island’s historic main street along Olde Western Avenue embodies the influence that shifting industry has had on main streets across the bi-state Calumet Region and serves as a perfect setting to examine challenges and opportunities main streets present in the Region today.
Kicking off with a historic walking tour along Olde Western Avenue, attendees will be immersed in the conference theme right from the start, focusing on the history of structures and murals along the streetscape. Sessions throughout the afternoon will elaborate on the historical importance of main streets and the unique ways that Calumet-area municipalities and communities are using, preserving, adapting, and enlivening their own main streets. Of particular interest is muralism as an art form that utilizes the built environment as a canvas to showcase community identity and cultural heritage.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Walking Tour (optional)
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.: Blue Island Mayor’s Welcome
1:15p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Keynote Address by Jason Berry
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Panel Session - Preservation & Community Oriented Development
3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.: Break
3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.: Panel Session - Public Art & Placemaking
4:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: CHP Year in Review from Board President Gary Johnson
4:30: Happy Hour & Beyond

COST: $30 per ticket (includes everything listed above!)
Sponsor the Conference: https://calumet-heritage-partnership.square.site/
Purchase tickets: https://square.link/u/meRWLecn