Marz Brewing Raises a Glass to McKinley Park News, Marshfield Courts Closes Out Its Art Season, and Spooky Fest Hits the Park Today
By Socialhood News · Mckinley Park ·
McKinley Park is ending its packed October week with a trio of stories that cut across brewing, skateboarding, and family fun — and together they paint a picture of a neighborhood whose creative and civic energy keeps finding new outlets.
First, a toast. Marz Community Brewing Co., the neighborhood anchor at 3630 S. Iron St., made news on Thursday, October 16, when Block Club Chicago reported that Marz is launching a "Block Club Beer" specifically to support neighborhood news organizations — with McKinley Park named among the communities directly connected to the initiative. Marz has long been one of McKinley Park's most visible community-minded businesses: it hosts the weekly Trivia on Marz night at its taproom, partners with neighborhood events throughout the year, and has built a reputation as a gathering place that takes its civic role seriously. The new beer represents a tangible, tangible bridge between a neighborhood brewery and the independent local journalism that keeps residents informed — a pairing that feels entirely at home in a neighborhood where community institutions tend to reinforce one another.
Over on the other side of the neighborhood, Marshfield Courts — the McKinley Park area's beloved DIY skate park — is wrapping up one of its most eventful seasons in recent memory. According to McKinley Park News reporting from May 2026, the scrappy, community-built skate spot at Marshfield Courts secured a new lease on life this spring through a pending property adoption, and has been hosting Sunday Skate & Art events monthly through October. The series, curated by Marshfield Courts' own Alex Quinoz, has featured rotating local artists, including painter Mike Burns, whose skateboarding-inspired work was installed during the May 3 kickoff event. With October's final Sunday Skate & Art edition either just passed or landing this weekend, the season closes on a high note: a DIY space that could have faded quietly instead spent the warmer months becoming a genuine outdoor gallery and skate destination on the Southwest Side. Neighbors who haven't made it out yet should follow Marshfield Courts for any final fall programming announcements.
And if you're looking for something to do today — Saturday, October 17 — McKinley Park's own grounds are hosting Spooky Fest starting at 11 a.m. at 2210 W. Pershing Rd. The event adds a Halloween-season community gathering to a park calendar that has already logged Fall Fest on October 4 and a week of dense Field House and library programming. McKinley Park's 71.75 acres have a way of absorbing these kinds of seasonal events without feeling crowded — there's room for the lagoon walkers, the dog park regulars, the Field House programming crowd, and a Spooky Fest all at once.
Taken together, these three items — a brewery bet on local journalism, a skate park that refused to die, and a Halloween gathering on the park grounds — reflect something consistent about McKinley Park's fall character. The neighborhood's civic energy doesn't concentrate in a single institution or a single weekend; it distributes itself across breweries and blacktop and park lawns, and it keeps showing up. For neighbors who want to stay current on all of it, mckinleypark.news remains the fastest way to track what's happening on the Southwest Side.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/latest-stories/
2. https://mckinleypark.news/news/real-estate-development-news
3. https://mckinleypark.news/events/showcase-events/category/130-chicago-park-district