What: 34th Annual Real Men
When: Father’s Day 2023,
Where: The Quarry Cultural
Contact:
Loren Taylor (773) 676-4722
Rael Jackson (312) 965-5405 or raeljackson@gmail.com
A celebration of fathers and “bonus dads”, grilled and original dishes prepared by top Chicago-area professional chefs, a mobile men’s hair care studio giving free beard trims that raise money for youth mentoring, a live DJ, children’s face painting and games, and a special greeting from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson- organizers for the Real Men Cook© Father’s Day Cookout say all this and “lots of family love” await guests coming this Sunday (June 17, from 3-to-6 p.m.) to the Quarry Cultural & Event Center on Chicago’s Southeast side for the 34th annual running of this Chicago Father’s Day tradition.
Real Men Cook Founder Yvette Moyo, who this week was selected by the Field Foundation of Illinois as one of the 2023 Leaders for a New Chicago, said the event brings a “citywide focus on the importance of fathers to building and maintaining healthy families and communities”. She added that their decades-long mission to dispel the myths around Black men and fathers now includes the role of “bonus dads”- uncles & older relatives, neighbors, teachers, & other respected male figures who are “part of the village that raise and support our youth”.
In his official greeting to guests at this year’s Real Men Cook, Mayor Johnson recognized that “Real Men Cook is helping to ensure that the next generation of men go on to live lives based on uplift, service, and family”. He commended Real Men Cook’s organizers and volunteers for “uplifting, inspiring, and empowering us all”.
Real Men Cook lead organizer Rael Jackson thanked this year’s principal sponsors, University of Chicago Medicine and Wahl Home Products, for “stepping up to show support for Black fathers and families at this critical time”.
Guests to RMC will find health info provided by UChicago Med, and the second day of the Wahl mobile men’s hair studio providing free beard trims. Wahl is donating $100 for each beard trim to the youth mentoring program No Matter What. Jackson said the two-day fundraising target of $20,000 is just a part of the $1M Real Men Cook has raised in its three decades history.
Tickets for Real Men Cook are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
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