Recipes, Roller Paint & Rolling Decks: McKinley Park's Most Creative Community Spaces Are Thriving This July

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/Mckinley Park · July 17, 2026

McKinley Park is serving up two of its most heartwarming community stories of the summer — one happening in a kitchen, and one on a stretch of concrete held together by neighborhood pride.

At Aquinas Literacy Center, 1751 W. 35th St., a standout new program called "Food, Stories & Home" is reimagining how neighbors learn English — through recipes. Participants cook and share family dishes as part of a resiliency initiative, weaving language learning into the deeply personal act of preparing food from home. It's a beautiful reflection of McKinley Park's immigrant community and the creative ways Aquinas continues to meet neighbors where they are, literally at the table.

Meanwhile, over at Marshfield Courts, the neighborhood's beloved DIY skate park is doing more than just surviving — it's thriving with a brand-new monthly "Sunday Skate & Art" series running through October. Fresh off securing a pending property adoption agreement that saved the grassroots spot from uncertainty, the skate park is now doubling as an outdoor gallery, with a local artist debuting a new skateboarding-inspired painting at the site. It's the kind of only-in-McKinley-Park mashup of grit and creativity that makes this Southwest Side neighborhood unlike anywhere else in Chicago. Stop by both spots and show your neighbors some love — check mckinleypark.news for dates and details.

Sources:
1. https://mckinleypark.news/news/real-estate-development-news
2. https://mckinleypark.news/news