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Winfield Chamber celebrates during Good Old Days

Posted September 08, 2010 11:00 pm

Robert Sanchez

Follow @BsanchDH

The Winfield Chamber of Commerce has long played host to the party during Good Old Days.

This year, the party is being held in the chamber's honor.

To mark the 35th anniversary of the chamber, Good Old Days organizers have adopted a "Drive Back to '75" theme and have booked a longer list of musical entertainment for the annual farewell to summer.

The four-day festival starts today and continues through Sunday, Sept. 12, in Winfield's town center.

The Lions Club will kick things off when its beer tent opens at 5 p.m. today near Beecher Avenue and Church Street. Perfect Strangers will be the first of several musical acts slated to perform throughout the weekend at that location. Buzz Kilman and the All Bubba Blues Band is scheduled to play at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

But the beer garden isn't the only spot that will be alive with music.

Rich Bysina, executive director of the Winfield Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has booked Elvis impersonator Michael St. Angel to recreate The King's 1975 stage act during a performance at 10:15 p.m. Saturday. That meant bringing a brand new stage to the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church parking lot along Liberty Street.

The Liberty Street stage opens Friday night and will include performances by several acts over the weekend. It also will be the site for Good Old Days' first Battle of the Bands contest at noon Saturday and Winfield's Got Talent at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

When it comes to food, a variety of treats will be offered at the food court, which opens at 4 p.m. Friday along Church Street. This year, the Buffalo Wild Wings in Warrenville is the newest addition to the food court lineup.

"I am sure whoever walks through there is going to find something they or their kids will like," Bysina said.

Also on Friday night, the final Cruzin Winfield of the year is set for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. along Jewell Road near Winfield Road.

While there won't be any carnival rides this year, the Liberty Street parking lot will be filled with different types of family entertainment and activities.

The armchair quarterback contest will challenge sitting participants to throw a football through an empty television screen. And women can test their skills during Saturday's shoe-kicking contest.

A festival favorite is the park district's duck race, planned for Sunday morning on the DuPage River near the Beecher Avenue bridge.

Hundreds of yellow plastic ducks will be dumped into the river to slowly float toward the finish line. Numbered ducks pulled from the water will earn prizes for the people who sponsored them.

Finally, the staple of the festival - the parade - will start at 1:15 p.m. Sunday at Sunnyside Avenue.

Phil Salerno, Bill Brach and Fritz Karwoski - three of the six organizing directors of the chamber - will be the parade grand marshals. "We owe them our gratitude for going through whatever it took 35 years ago to get a chamber of commerce started," Bysina said.

About 50 parade entries will travel west from Sunnyside to Winfield Road and then north to Beecher. The procession will include firetrucks, floats and 1970s-themed entries.

Most important for die-hard Bears fans, they don't have to worry about missing too much of Sunday's game.

"Even the people who are in the parade are going to be done with it around 2 p.m." Bysina said. "There's still pretty much the whole second half of the game to see."

The parade on Sunday afternoon is one of the highlights of Winfield's Good Old Days festival. Brian Hill | Staff Photographer, 2005

Good Old Days

Winfield's Good Old Days festival, sponsored by the Winfield Chamber of Commerce, runs Sept. 9 to 12 at in downtown Winfield. Hours: 5-9 p.m. today, 4-11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free, but there is a charge for food. Info: winfieldchamber.biz.

TODAY

5-9 p.m. Lions Beer Garden, Beecher Avenue and Church Street

6-9 p.m. Perfect Strangers, Lions Beer Garden

7-9 p.m. Book sale, Winfield Public Library

FRIDAY

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Book sale, Winfield Public Library

4-6 p.m. FreshGround, Liberty Street stage

4-10 p.m. Food court, Church Street

4-11 p.m. Lions Beer Garden

5 p.m. to dusk Expo tent, Liberty Street parking lot

5 p.m. to dusk Family fun, Liberty Street parking lot

5-11 p.m. Craft fair, Church Street

5:30-8:30 p.m. Cruzin Winfield, Jewell Road at Winfield Road

6-8 p.m. Syrens Lions, Lions Beer Garden

6:30-8:30 p.m. The Paul Avers Band, Liberty Street stage

8:30-11 p.m. Rob Russo and the Loose Screws, Lions Beer Garden

9-11 p.m. The Almost Brothers Band, Liberty Street stage

SATURDAY

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Softball tournament, Wynwood Fields

9 a.m. Walking Tour of Winfield, Winfield Historical Society

9 a.m. Bell ceremony with Winfield Fire Protection District, Lions Beer Garden

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Winfield Area Gardners Plant & Bake Sale, Creekside Park

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Book sale, Winfield Public Library

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bags tournament, Lions beer garden

10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Craft fair, Church Street

11 a.m. Winfield School/St. John's Band, Liberty Street stage

11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Food court, Church Street

11:30 a.m. Contest awards, Hedges Station

Noon to dusk Family fun, Liberty Street parking lot

Noon to 2:30 p.m. Battle of the Bands, Liberty Street stage

1 to 3 p.m. Coin carnival/moon jump, Creekside Park

1 to 6 p.m. College football on TV, Lions Beer Garden

1 p.m. to dusk Expo tent, Liberty Street parking lot

3:30-5:30 p.m. Winfield's Got Talent, Liberty Street stage

3:30-5:30 p.m. Pocket Biscuits, Lions Beer Garden

6-8 p.m. Debe Welch Band, Lions Beer Garden

7-9:45 p.m. Pandora's Kingdom, Liberty Street stage

7:30-10:30 p.m. Teen Street Dance, Church Street Community parking Lot

8:30-11 p.m. Buzz Kilman & the All Bubba Blues Band, Lions Beer Garden

10:15 p.m. Elvis impersonator Michael St. Angel, Liberty Street stage

SUNDAY

10 a.m. Duck Race, DuPage River at Beecher Avenue

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Craft fair, Church Street

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winfield Area Gardeners Plant & Bake Sale, Creekside Park

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lions Beer Garden

Noon to 3 p.m. Bears vs. Lions on TV, Lions Beer Garden

1-6 p.m. Food court, Church Street

1:15 p.m. Parade from Sunnyside to Beecher avenues

2-5 p.m. Family fun/entertainment, Liberty Street parking lot

2-5 p.m. Expo tent, Liberty Street parking lot

3-6 p.m. Blue Rock Inn, Lions Beer Garden

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