Bulls Fest returns to celebrate basketball, culture and Chicago

Dave Cooper caught the Chicago Bulls’ attention with a tweet last September.

His son, Patrick, then a rising seventh grader, was locked in what appeared to be a fiercely competitive game of one-on-one. The contest was impromptu. Patrick Cooper’s opponent was another kid he did not know.

Dave Cooper captured the moment perfectly. With the Willis Tower kissing the sky in the background, Cooper’s caption was emblematic of everything the franchise hopes fans experience when they attend Bulls Fest.

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“Two kids, who didn’t know each other before, just playing ball in the city. Kind of what Bulls Fest was all about,” Cooper wrote.

Two kids, who didn’t know each other before, just playing ball in the city. Kind of what #BullsFest was all about.

— Dave Cooper (@coopcoop74) September 5, 2022

Bulls Fest is back for the second year with another two-day extravaganza just outside the United Center this weekend. The festival is being billed as a celebration of basketball, culture and the Chicago Bulls.

There will be basketball camps and clinics, a mock combine, a 3-point competition, a dunk contest, a 3-on-3 tournament, an art gallery, current and former Bulls players on-hand, photo opportunities, food trucks, discount Bulls merchandise and more.

Dave Cooper took his entire family to last year’s event. Patrick’s younger brother, Landon, participated in the 3-on-3 competition. His squad won the championship for its age group. Cooper said even his daughter, the youngest at 6 last summer, thoroughly enjoyed herself.

“We saw it all,” Dave Cooper said. “The 3-on-3 games. The art exhibition, which I loved. The dunk contest, which we all loved. Benny (the Bull). Everything.

“Everyone we interacted with was having a great time and (were) very friendly. Guests and staff. It had a big block party, community atmosphere.”

Cooper’s overall assessment of Bulls Fest?

“A great, long weekend of basketball,” he said.

That’s exactly what the Bulls are striving for at the tail end of summer, approximately six weeks before the start of training camp.

“At Bulls Fest, there really is something for everyone,” said Dan Moriarty, Bulls vice president of marketing. “You don’t need to be playing basketball to come out and enjoy it.”

The inspiration for Bulls Fest, Moriarty said, stemmed from the overwhelming demand from fans to resurrect the three-decades-old “Shoot the Bull” 3-on-3 summer tournament formerly held in Grant Park. Bulls Fest was reimagined to marry basketball with a typical Chicago street festival.

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“When we take a step back and we ask ourselves, ‘Who are we as a brand?’” Moriarty said. “We really wanted to make sure that this felt like a Chicago Bulls weekend and not just a random basketball tournament weekend.”

Last year’s event was held on Labor Day due to arena availability. The Bulls purposely made this year’s event earlier in the calendar to accommodate more fans. And the franchise made it a point to be welcoming to all corners of the community.

Inclusivity will be a theme throughout the weekend. There will be an all-girls clinic as well as a diverse-abilities clinic. More than 400 teams registered for the 3-on-3 tournament, ranging from ages 8 to 65. The event also features brackets for men’s and women’s elite players and an invite-only FIBA 3-on-3 tournament.

Additionally, the Bulls are hosting several community partners. Hoops in the Hood, a sports-based summer safety initiative that creates safe spaces for youth from more than a dozen at-risk communities, will participate. The Bulls also are welcoming SWISH, a BIPOC basketball meet-up group that provides a space for queer women, trans and enby (non-binary) players to feel held, seen and valued. The Chicago Skyhawks, a basketball program for youth with disabilities, also will participate.

“Part of it is us showing up for them,” said Bulls vice-president of community engagement Adrienne Scherenzel-Curry. “We’re doing this right on Madison Street. You can see the United Center. You can come into the United Center. It’s us being partners in being a team. We’re a city team. It means a lot for them to know we’re there. And it’s free, so we’re removing any barriers to enter.

“We want the next generation of fans. We also want the fans that used to love us before. But we also want everyone who’s looking forward and thinking about what the future’s going to be like now that we’ve got some great Chicago guys on the team as well.”

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Second-year guard and Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu attended last year’s event. Dave Cooper still marvels at how long the line stretched for photos with Dosunmu. This year, free-agent acquisition Jevon Carter, another local product from nearby Maywood, will be in attendance. Bulls alumni, such as Horace Grant and Nate Robinson, are scheduled to be present as well.

“We’re excited,” said Scherenzel-Curry. “We’re trying to make sure we’re showing up in the community and that we’re allowing access to all the things that we have as the Bulls organization.”

Scherenzel-Curry said she is most looking forward to seeing the artists’ work and welcoming former players Robinson and Grant back to Chicago.

Moriarty found it more difficult to narrow his anticipation.

“I only have one kid, but it would be like asking who my favorite kid is,” Moriarty said. “There’s too much that goes into all of this to pick anything.

“I think it’s going to be something that we don’t know that ends up being my favorite, like that tweet from last year of the two kids playing basketball. All of that stuff just happens organically. I’m just kind of really looking forward to seeing this come to life.”

(Photo of Benny the Bull: Michael Hickey/Getty Images)