Naperville's Spring Fever Reliever provides music, sports and more
The symptoms are always the same. The sun starts to feel warmer. Gray skies give way to colorful palettes of tulips. You find yourself whistling along with the birds.
The diagnosis? Spring fever.
The cure? Naperville Park District officials think they have just the thing: the second annual Spring Fever Reliever.
Created a year ago, the free event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9, along the downtown Riverwalk, celebrates the season with music, sports and outdoor activities.
Sue Omanson, the park district's community development manager, says organizers put together the inaugural event last year in response to an incredibly harsh winter.
"Many people need that little boost in the spring," said Ashley Summers Stubbeman, special events and party coordinator for the district.
Stubbeman is coordinating the event, which includes free entertainment, live music, half-priced paddleboat and kayak rentals, canine competitions, field games and four free inflatable rides.
Musical acts scheduled to perform include Skydeck, Andrew Huber, Elizabeth K. Carol and Dave Rudolph.
The Elan Dance Company, a group of park district dance students, will perform at 10:30 a.m. at the Millennium Carillon Amphitheater, where magician Scott Piner also will perform.
"They try to be very versatile so they include hip-hop sometimes and lyrical, which is a blend of ballet and modern," Omanson said of Elan.
The dogs will have their day, too, at the canine disc championships beginning at 9 a.m. between the Riverwalk warming house and the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion.
Discounted beach memberships will be on sale at Centennial Beach, Stubbeman said, and The Riverwalk Eatery, located at the base of Rotary Hill, will be open for business.
Stubbeman said the first 1,000 visitors to the Spring Fever Reliever will get free popcorn. The park district also will distribute free blue bags stuffed with giveaways.
Visitors who post photos of the event to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtag #npdsfr2015 will be eligible to win free passes to the beach and boat rides, Stubbeman said.
Bike Bald, a charity group focused on raising awareness of childhood cancer, will display a Neptune, New Jersey, fire truck that was among the emergency vehicles to respond to the World Trade Center in 2001.
Healing Field flags, which will be displayed in November, will be available for purchase in a tent near the carillon, Stubbeman said.
The Naperville Jaycees will have a lobster sale in the beach parking lot beginning at noon.
No registration is required to attend the Spring Fever Reliever, Stubbeman said. Activities will proceed in light rain but will be canceled if severe weather develops. Stubbeman said visitors should check www.napervilleparks.org or call the Rainout Line at (630) 883-4242 for updated information.