On Saturday, October 21, 2023 the Ping Tom Memorial Park Advisory Council celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the Leonard M. Louie Fieldhouse with a Fall Festival and Trunk N Treat event.
The event began with traditional Lion Dance performances by the Haines School Lion Dancers as well as the Dragon Athletic Association. The event was attended by an estimated 400 plus, including children, community leaders, numerous volunteers, local politicians and the Chicago Park District Staff. The celebration included remarks from Jim Mark (who led the field house’s construction and is the nephew of the late Leonard Louie), remarks from Ernest Wong of sitedesign group (which designed the park’s landscape), the reading of a Chinese poem written for the occasion by Anita Luk and a Halloween story read by a member of Shakespeare in the Parks. 12th District State Senator Celina Villanueva, 24th District State Representative Theresa Mah, Cook County Commissioner John Daley and 11th Ward Alderman Nicole Lee attended the celebration. After the ceremony, the Pui Ying Art School coordinated pumpkin and gourd painting and kids enjoyed candies distributed at the Trunk N Treat.
The field house was named after Leonard Louie in recognition of his 50 years of advocating for a fieldhouse in Chinatown to replaced Hardin Square Park that was lost due to the construction of the Dan Ryan / Stevenson Expressway extensions back in the late 1960's.