Slow and Low: Chicago Lowrider Festival, a celebration of lowrider culture, community and art is returning next weekend.

It marks the festival’s comeback after it was put on hold during the pandemic, and the event is being held for the first time indoors at Navy Pier.

“The purpose is really to provide an alternative platform for a broader community of people to enjoy and better understand the nuances and characteristics of the lowrider culture and community,” festival co-founder Lauren Pacheco said.

The last Chicago Lowrider Festival was held outdoors in September 2018 in Pilsen, exhibiting more than 250 customized cars, and dozens of bicycles and motorcycles. With this year’s event moving indoors, it called for some changes and a reimagining of the event. 

“It was always usually somewhat of a parade,” festival co-founder Peter Kepha said. “I always talk about the cars being peacocks and they’re strutting down the catwalk. This is different because we’re not going to be able to drive our cars up and down; they’re going to be stationary, which is a nice thing because we can show off a little bit more.”

The sibling duo of Pacheco and Kepha are third generation Mexican Americans who have been collaborating on creative projects for over 15 years. 

“This is just a really lovely collaborative moment for Peter and I, and as Chicagoans born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, it’s a historic moment for not only us and our project, but for the lowrider community,” Pacheco said. 

The festival will also highlight the Mexican American and Chicano roots of lowriding, particularly in Chicago and in the greater Midwest community. At least 40 lowrider clubs representing the Midwest are expected to attend.

“It’s really about the community and the families that are behind it, to me, that’s the most important,” Kepha said.

The festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 15 at Navy Pier. You can find information about the event at www.chicagolowriderfestival.com/.