"It's not too hot out here, it's bearable," said Amber Orr, festival goer.
The 24th annual African Festival of the Arts in Washington Park is just one of the many events scheduled in Chicago over Labor Day weekend marking the unofficial end of summer.
"It's beautiful, this lake breeze, just a perfect day," said biker Robert Mulchrone.
And although there are a lot of people like Robert Mulchrone, who chose to stay close to home, there will be plenty of others choosing to get out of town.
According to AAA Travel, 1.9 million people in Illinois are expected to travel over Labor Day weekend.
The agency says the increase is driven by lower gas prices-- gas prices Chicagoan Steve Joyner says aren't low enough for him to hit the road.
"We live in the inner city and gas prices are to the roof, $5 or $10 dollars gets you literally under 2.5 gallons, you can't go anywhere it's ridiculous," said Joyner.
Jamie Denkalu and her family decided to say goodbye to summer by spending the day at the 12th Street Beach.
"My kids actually began school last week and have a day off already, so we came back to the beach to say the last hurrah to summer," said Denkalu.
Live music at the African Festival of the Arts is scheduled to begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. The festival will run until Mon. Sept. 2, 2013.
