Crowds battle heat on big festival weekend

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's a big festival weekend across the Chicago area, with Blues Fest in Grant Park being one of them.

It felt like summer in Chicago across the city, with everyone battling the heat.

Over at the Blues Festival in Grant Park, crowds rocked to the beat and broke a sweat.

"It is hot," said Nina Bonnett. "On a scale of 100, it's infinity hot."

With temperatures hovering in the 90s, some found refuge from the heat any place they could find it, especially in the shade.

"You really have to secure your spots, protect it with your life really," said Alison McAvoy of Madison, Ill.

"We keep a towel with us because we know we're going to perspire," said Guthrie Bonnett of Lafayette, Ind. "We just want to take care of ourselves better."

For the artists on stage, the show must go on no matter what.

"We have a lot of shade, some pop-up tents and a lot of water anda big chest of ice and we're keeping them hydrated," said Dave Madliner of the Windy City Blues Society.

The hot day could be the inspiration for the next great blues song.

"It might start like this...It's so hot in Chicago that my shoes might melt on the street" Madliner said. "That might be how it starts."

At Lit Fest in Printers Row, turning the page to summer-like weather didn't affect turnout.

"It has been hot but it has not discouraged people from coming and shopping with us," said Kylia Kummer, director of programs at Turning the Page.

Perhaps one of the best places to be to stay cool was Millennium Park, with children beating the heat and playing in the water.

"We heard that it was going to be 90s and they are always complaining they want to be outside," said Carmen Garay. "This is good place to be outside and get wet."

It was so hot on Saturday that the Illinois Department of Transportation blames the buckling pavement along a stretch of southbound Cicero in Alsip on the extreme heat. They had to shut down the road to fix it.

Emergency crews have been busy responding to heat-related issues. The Chicago Fire Department said nearly 50 people have been treated for heat-related issues in the past two days.