A Chicago concert born from one young man's final wish is moving to a new stage this month. WeishFest, the annual fundraiser supporting families of adolescents and young adults with cancer, takes over Navy Pier's Aon Grand Ballroom on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, with performances from Russell Dickerson, Quinn XCII and Five for Fighting.
The festival will spread across two stages with more than six hours of live music, according to Navy Pier. It's an all-ages, indoor event, with doors opening at 4 p.m. and music running until 10:30 p.m. This marks the first time WeishFest has taken over part of Navy Pier, according to NBC Chicago.
Tickets start at $175, per 104.3 The Score/Audacy's event listing, while Navy Pier's own early-bird pricing lists Gold, Platinum and Platinum Plus packages at $160, $250 and $350. Group deals are available for parties of 10 or more, the station notes. The venue itself is part of the draw: an 18,000-square-foot ballroom beneath an 80-foot dome, plus another 15,000 square feet of space on the adjoining Lakeview Terrace, according to WeishFest's own site.
A Son's Final Request Became a Movement
The festival traces back to Andrew Weishar, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 19 in 2009 and died at 21 in 2012. As he faced the end of his life, Weishar told his family to pay forward the kindness shown to them during his illness, according to CBS Chicago. His family and friends responded by creating the Andrew Weishar Foundation, also known as Weish4Ever, and WeishFest was born at the same time, the station reported.
Andrew's brother, Dan Weishar, now helps lead the event as a co-founder. “The only thing he asked of us was to pay forward that love and kindness that was shown to our family,” Dan Weishar said, according to NBC Chicago. He has also said that families receiving the foundation's funds have their lives changed as they face cancer, per the same report.
Filling a Gap in Cancer Support
The foundation has said people ages 15 to 39 often fall through the cracks of cancer support that's typically built for children or older adults, according to NBC Chicago's reporting on WeishFest. That age range lines up with federal data: the National Cancer Institute estimated 85,480 adolescents and young adults between 15 and 39 would be diagnosed with cancer nationwide in 2025, with an age-adjusted incidence rate of 77.6 per 100,000 per year based on 2019-2023 cases, according to the institute's SEER program.
Since 2013, the foundation has held WeishFest annually, according to CBS Chicago. The event has moved around over the years — it was previously hosted at the Salt Shed, where organizers once said they expected roughly 2,500 to 3,000 attendees, according to ABC7 Chicago. Before that, the fifth annual WeishFest in 2017 was headlined by Third Eye Blind at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, and the prior year's event had sold out at 3,500 tickets, per the Chicago Tribune/Daily Southtown.
Totals Vary, But the Mission Hasn't
Exactly how much the foundation has raised and how many families it has helped depends on which source you ask. NBC Chicago reported the organization has raised $4.3 million since 2013 and helped nearly 800 families. Navy Pier's own event page, meanwhile, states the foundation has gifted $4.2 million and uplifted more than 750 families, while 104.3 The Score/Audacy describes the total as more than $4 million given to nearly 800 families since 2013.
Earlier accounts show how that total has climbed over time. A WeishFest held at Bourbon Street raised $600,000 in a single weekend, according to CBS Chicago, and by the time of the Salt Shed event, ABC7 Chicago reported the foundation had gifted nearly $3 million in financial assistance to more than 500 families over a decade. Whatever the precise current figure, proceeds from the Nov. 14 event will again benefit the Andrew Weishar Foundation's mission of supporting families of adolescents and young adults battling cancer, according to Navy Pier.
