The John Stamos butter sculpture is back at Riot Fest; now fans await the man himself

Riot Fest's got a one-sided infatuation with John Stamos, and it's lasted for over a decade.

But this year, it seems like Stamos has warmed up, albeit "begrudgingly."

As part of that seemingly unrequited love that began in 2013, the festival last year unveiled a sculpture of Stamos depicted as a Greek god, with perfectly chiseled abs and a killer smile. He's leaning on a stick of butter, too.

The larger-than-life sculpture holds court near the Riotland carnival area, where fans were seen taking selfies and photos Friday, the first day of the fest.

Spoiler alert: It's not actually made of butter, but it's a bigger recreation of a real butter statue Riot Fest had made more than a decade ago. They enlisted food sculpture artist Jim Victor to make it.

It's all part of the long-running joke when the festival took to X to beg Stamos' former band, Jesse & The Rippers, to reunite and perform at the fest when it was still being held in Humboldt Park.

But Stamos mostly ignored Riot Fest until they debuted their butter bust of his likeness, calling it "pretty frightening."

"We thought it embodied the true definition of beauty," the festival wrote on its website.

This year, organizers announced that Stamos, after years of taunts, “tentatively/begrudgingly agreed” to appear at the fest and sit in on drums for previously announced act The Beach Boys, continuing a special guest spot he’s held in the band on and off for 40 years.

The Beach Boys are performing in the penultimate set Saturday on the Riot Stage.