Levitt Pavilion
What is it? Mortimer Levitt funded the Mortimer Levitt Foundation, dedicated specifically to supporting outdoor music venues across the U.S. The goal is to provide a broad assortment of free music to entertain, enrich and inspire the lives of children and families, regardless of family composition, economic situation or musical taste.
Why Winfield? With Levitt Pavilions already established on both coasts, Mortimer took it upon himself to research DuPage county, after learning about the area from a Winfield resident. He concluded the demographics, the land rich asset area, and far proximity from other musical venues, e.g. CSO or Ravinia, made DuPage county, and specifically, Winfield, a perfect fit for his vision.
How does it work? A $750K grant is awarded which is used to build the Pavilion and cover performance costs. In addition a “Friends of the Levitt Pavilion” organization is formed to maintain operations of the schedule and raise additional funds. The operation must put on 50 free and diverse concerts a year. Anything above that would be incremental revenue for the Village.
What’s next? A Riverwalk sub-committee has been organized which is conducting key due diligence exercises, e.g. narrowing down possible locations, working with the Village of Winfield, DuPage Forest Preserve, DuPage County offices, Central DuPage Hospital and surrounding communities to ensure all will benefit.
The Friends of the Levitt Pavilion Motto:
Building Communities Under the Stars through Music for All
Levitt Pavilion Opportunity
Utilizing Arts to Contribute to the Economic vitality of the Community
Watch the Levitt Pavilion video above (may take a few moments to load)
*Video requires QuickTime
