Remember summer? On August 22, Collaboraction and I threw an outdoor Order of Odd-Fish Dome of Doom costumed dance party in Chicago’s Logan Square. We’re going to do it again, on October 16—details below!

Here’s a video of what happened. Check out the adorable dancing children! The nascent breakdancers! The, uh, guy who kept throwing his infant daughter in the air, scaring the crap out of me?

It was like our Odd-Fish fan art show and dance party back in April—but outdoors this time, anyone wandering by could get involved. And they did! You can feel the happy vibe in the video.

My partners-in-crime at Collaboraction and Environmental Encroachment deserve a hand for this. It was all made possible through the Richard J. Dreihaus Foundation and the Chicago Park District.

It went so well, we’ve decided to do it again!

This time it’s going to be Saturday, October 16, from 2-5 pm. The location? Pritzker Park, at the corner of State and Van Buren, right next to the Harold Washington Library (not Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, mind you.)

But wait, you say—isn’t there a giant eyeball in Pritzker Park right now? Why yes there is:

The Dome will be set up right next to the eye! I hope Rahm Emmanuel shows up at the Dome of Doom and gets in a staring contest with the eyeball. I think it will blink.

For music, Jayve Montgomery of the Chicago Park District’s “Inferno Mobile Recording Studio” will be on hand with something called Sound Beams. I’m told that “the Sound Beams can be placed so that while the kids dance they will trigger the beams and make music.” So the music will actually be controlled by the movements of the kids in the Dome? Awesome!

Here’s the official write-up for this outdoor dance party:

The Chicago Park District, Collaboraction, and The Order of Odd-Fish present

The Dome of Doom
Saturday, October 16, 2 – 5 pm
Pritzker Park
310 S. State St.

Two dancers enter. One dancer leaves!

Inside a geodesic Dome, competitors of all ages dance-battle to the delight of judges and a raucous crowd of spectators! Collaboraction and James Kennedy, author of the young adult fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish, present the Dome of Doom: an audience participatory dance battle zone, in which costumed competitors have 60 seconds to show off their best dance moves and take their opponent down. (Don’t have a costume? We’ll have plenty on hand for you to use.)

This wacky, fun, interactive outdoor spectacle is a blast for the whole family. It’s also a reenactment of the climactic scene from The Order of Odd-Fish! Signed copies will be available on site for purchase.

It’ll be a hoot. If you live in Chicago, please do come.