Chosen Few DJ’s Terry Hunter, Mike Dunn, Wayne Williams, Jessie Saunders, Alan King, and Tony and Andre Hatchett.

CHICAGO (WGN) — It’s now one of the most anticipated events of “Summertime Chi,” but it started as a small outdoor get-together with a little music, for family and friends.

Terry Hunter and Mike Dunn are two of the “Chosen Few DJs,” known around the world for bringing innovative, feel-good music to millions of house fans.

Coined in 1977 by DJ and producer Wayne Williams, “The Chosen Few Disco Corporation” originally included friends and South Side DJs Jessie Saunders, Alan King and brothers Tony and Andre Hatchett. In fact, it was a Hatchett family Fourth of July picnic behind the Museum of Science and Industry, where the festival first took shape.

Hunter said the whole thing caught everyone by surprise.

“It just started off with the Hatchett family and people getting together. At that time, Jessie had moved out of state, Tony had moved out of state,” Hunter said. “And so they was really looking for a way to collaborate and get together when everybody was home for the holidays.

“And so, they just told a couple of people, hey, let’s bring the speakers, the turntables out, set up and play some house music, and then that just caught on fire and year after year it just started building and building.”

The crowd grew from around 40 people to now, what officials estimate as more than 40,000 fans.

“The city was like y’all too big y’all have to turn this into a festival or stop doing it,” Hunter said. “And so, obviously, we all got together, partnered with the city and then we went to Jackson Park … and it was like an influx of 5,000 people, maybe more that following year. It was like a crazy leap in numbers.

“So from that point it just got bigger and bigger and then we had to bring the big bro in, Mike Dunn.”

Dunn said his addition wasn’t a random occurrence. They all had prior experience in the industry.

“All the guys were my friends,” Dunn said. “Tony, Andre, Wayne, Alan, Terry, Jesse. So I knew all of them through music or some form of DJ’ing.”

Dunn joined the Chosen Few in 2012. Having watched the genre gain worldwide fame as a DJ with his own acclaim, he said what makes this festival so special is more than the music.

“It’s hard to explain and every time you ask somebody, they always have a different answer because of what it brings to them. The joy that it brings to them,” Dunn said.

And it’s more than just a party. This year, the Chosen Few has teamed with medical professionals to make sure attendees are happy and healthy.

“We’re supporting health and wellness in our community,” Dunn said. “We’re partnering up with Gilead Science to address HIV and other health issues.”

The festival, which used to be free, now requires a ticket to attend. Hunter said helping cover the costs of this now global attraction on the city’s South Side will make sure it continues for years to come.

“It was one those things, there were no sponsors. It was still free and that’s the thing people kind of harp on. I was going to the picnic when it was free,” Hunter said. “We had to upgrade from being on a small stage … to a huge, concert festival-like stage, and make sure that the sound is right for that. It’s just a process, man, and it keeps growing, it keeps changing.

“It’s nothing like it, so you have to experience it, and I think that’s one of the reasons we got the name … there’s nothing like Chosen Few.”