The Chosen Few Picnic looked a little different this year. The annual picnic that celebrates the love of House Music, hosted by the legendary Chosen Few DJs, had to move from its base of Jackson Park to the homes of their fans all over the world this past Fourth of July, due to COVID-19.

For the 30th anniversary of its inception, the Chosen Few DJs decided to go virtual using streaming sites (such as YouTube and Twitch). Under the theme of “You Can’t Stop the House,” the show continued to go on with performances from the 7 Chosen Few DJs (Wayne Williams, Jesse Saunders, the Hatchett Brothers of Andre and Tony, Terry Hunter, Mike Dunn and Alan King), along with guests: actor-comedian Deon Cole (Black-ish, Angie Tribeca), singer-songwriter Carla Prather (known for her work with Poi Dog Pondering and Mr. A.L.I) and House Music Legend Bryon Stingily (lead vocalist of Ten City, prominent House group).

The Official Flyer of the Event, courtesy of the Chosen Few DJs Instagram Page @chosenfewdjs

According to Alan King, one of the Chosen Few DJs, the months before the picnic proved to be “difficult”.

"We were planning to kind of blow it all out this year [for the 30th Anniversary]," King stated.

According to King, the Chosen Few DJs, along with the planning committee, waited to give a formal announcement on the date because they wanted all the information about the Coronavirus, in terms of mass gatherings.

"We kind of resigned ourselves to the fact that it was going to have to be postponed, at least the outdoor fact," he shared.

Like the picnic, many of Summer Chicago pastimes had to make the choice of going virtual, postpone, or cancel for next year.

"We've been so blessed that this event has come to mean so much to so many people," he said, "We never had a moment's thought that we were just going to let the year go by without doing something."

The Chosen Few Picnic has been a staple since 1990. From its humble beginnings as a small gathering amongst friends and family, it turned into a legendary event for the summer to celebrate the sounds of House Music, which was created on Chicago's South Side by the late Frankie Knuckles in the late 70s. The picnic usually features the 7 Chosen Few DJs with a host of featured artists and guest DJs, who contribute in the development and distribution of House Music throughout the world.

One of the guest performers, Carla Prather grooving during her set. Photo courtesy of Jesse Saunders, through The Chosen Few DJs Facebook Page

Keesha Buchanan, 50, has been attending the picnic since 2013 and always had a strict routine in preparation of the event.

"I usually start the night before, so that I can pack the car with whatever I'm taking whatever food or supplies like maybe tents, chairs, those kinds of things,” Buchanan explained. Then Buchanan shared how she always would get up around 5AM to make her drive to the park to avoid the picnic traffic that comes later on.

That's a normal routine for many of the "House Heads," a term used to describe fans of House Music, that come from all over. Locals and visitors would come to the park early to get good parking spots and set up their designated spots with different themes (i.e. organizations, schools, etc.) or a gathering of friends and family. Being that normality of the picnic was disrupted, Aneita Williams, 52, wasn’t going to let it stop her from supporting the event. She brought early bird tickets and didn’t request to get a refund.

"This is how [Black People] support each other," she explained. "Right now, there's an energy and a movement catching on for us to support Black businesses. You know, kind of 'FUBU': 'For us, by us".

In an empty nightclub for nine hours, the sets were streamed. The atmosphere of the event was different, but King shared that they came up with different methods to recreate that picnic atmosphere.

Roller Skater Syd Baylock skating to DJ Terry Hunter’s set. Photo courtesy of Jesse Saunders, through The Chosen Few DJs Facebook Page

"We, sort of, intersperse footage in the stream, itself, of old picnics. We were trying to do something to not just be boring and have a DJ [just] standing there. Hopefully that helped people feel a little more connected to the picnic, but on our side, it was hard [with] not having that immediate fan reaction," King said. According to King, close to 100,000 people were watching the streams.

While King shared that if COVID is still an issue and if they had to go the virtual event again, he would consider doing pre-recordings of sets to avoid technical glitches, but on the other hand, he explained that going live on streaming sites gives the "element of stepping up to play your set to a live audience".

He thinks that virtual DJing and concerts are going to be the norm for now, but he found a silver lining in the whole thing.

"You know we definitely want to get back out to the park, but I think one thing we've learned through this experience is when we get back to our live outdoor event, we're probably going to continue to stream it. A lot of people from around the country, around the world, who can't make it to Chicago [will] have the opportunity to be a part of the experience, so that's one of our biggest takeaways,” King said.

A still of DJ Jesse Saunders, closing the party out. Photo courtesy of The Chosen Few DJs Facebook Page

For Aneita Williams, it was important that the show went on. "We call it the 'Black Woodstock'. That's our Woodstock. We support it and we make a pilgrimage to that occasion every year. People come from all over the country, overseas. These DJs are worldwide and we will continue to support it for as long as they are doing it".

The Chosen Few Picnic Stayed in the House