Riot Fest has maintained a one-sided fascination with John Stamos that has spanned more than a decade, and this year, the beloved actor and musician appears to have finally warmed up to the festival's persistent advances, though perhaps reluctantly. After years of playful taunts and public appeals, organizers have announced that Stamos will make his debut appearance at the festival, joining The Beach Boys as a guest drummer, continuing a special role he has held with the legendary band on and off for the past 40 years.

However, Stamos's grudging acceptance to participate came with a comprehensive list of demands that festival organizers must fulfill. These requirements include the creation of a special edition T-shirt in his honor, a Greek-style pizza created specifically for him by a Chicago restaurant, a foot massage from Riot Fest's Twitter representative, and perhaps most notably, festival founder Mike Petryshyn, known as Riot Mike, must get a John Stamos tattoo as a sign of his commitment.

The festival has been diligently working to meet all of Stamos's demands, with Riot Mike following through on his promise to get the tattoo and several local pizzerias stepping up to create Greek-style pizzas in the actor's honor. On Saturday, the festival held a John Stamos look-alike contest as part of their efforts to court the star. Chris Maimonis, a 43-year-old resident of Wicker Park, was crowned the winner of the competition. Speaking to reporters, Maimonis revealed that he had never attended Riot Fest before but purchased a ticket on Friday specifically to participate in the look-alike contest.

The unusual love affair between Riot Fest and Stamos began in 2013, though the festival's most famous tribute to the actor was unveiled last year in the form of an impressive sculpture depicting Stamos as a Greek god. The artwork features the actor with perfectly chiseled abs and his signature killer smile, casually leaning against a stick of butter. This larger-than-life sculpture has taken up residence near the Riotland carnival area, where festival-goers have been flocking to take selfies and photos with the striking piece.

Despite its appearance, the sculpture is not actually made of butter, but rather serves as a bigger recreation of an authentic butter statue that Riot Fest commissioned more than a decade ago. The festival enlisted renowned food sculpture artist Jim Victor to create the original butter masterpiece, demonstrating their serious commitment to their Stamos obsession.

The entire saga is part of a long-running joke that began when the festival took to social media platform X to publicly beg Stamos's former fictional band, Jesse & The Rippers, to reunite and perform at the fest during its earlier years when it was still held in Humboldt Park. For years, Stamos largely ignored Riot Fest's persistent appeals and social media campaigns, maintaining his distance from the festival's increasingly elaborate attempts to win his attention.

Stamos's attitude began to shift when the festival debuted their butter sculpture of his likeness, though his initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. The actor described the tribute as "pretty frightening," marking the first time he had publicly acknowledged the festival's years-long campaign to secure his participation. However, Riot Fest organizers remained undeterred, writing on their official website that they believed the sculpture "embodied the true definition of beauty," standing firmly behind their artistic vision and continuing their pursuit of their celebrity crush with unwavering determination.