'New look' as Elk Grove RotaryFest opens Wednesday

A new and improved look will greet visitors to RotaryFest Wednesday, as the five-day festival in Elk Grove Village opens for another year.

For starters, Rotarians secured the largest tent available — literally the size of a football field — to cover the main stage, its adjoining food and beer vendors, dining tables and dance floor.

Additionally, for the first time, visitors will enjoy the music in a smoke-free environment. The Elk Grove Village village board approved the smoking ban in March, after Rotarians asked the board to bring the fest in line with the rest of Elk Grove's outdoor events.

Even more significantly, patrons will see no signs of flooding, even if it rains this week, festival organizers say.

“The village has made a huge investment in the property,” says Bill Marston, festival director. “The property has been reconfigured, electrical service has been installed and the ground has been graded.

“It looks more like a country club,” Marston adds, “than a backyard festival.”

The improvements are the latest signs of growth to the festival, since its start in 1986. What started as a branding event — and major fundraiser — for the Rotary Club of Elk Grove, has become one of the largest festivals in the Northwest suburbs. It also stands out as the first major Northwest suburban festival of the season, drawing fest-starved crowds from outside Elk Grove Village.

“We started out a lot smaller,” says Bill Beaupre, a two-time past chairman and current board member. ‘There were no big tents, no big name bands.”

The carnival and the hometown parade, as well as local vendors providing food and drinks, were its mainstay from the beginning, however.

“We always offered free entrance and free parking,” Marston says, “and now we can say it's smoke-free, which makes it terrific family entertainment.”

For the community, RotaryFest is a traditional celebration of fun, music and friends. But for the Elk Grove Rotary Club the meaning behind the festival is rooted in something bigger.

With the family theme in mind, Rotarians traditionally open the fest first to children with disabilities and their families, including those served by Northwest Special Recreation Association, based in Rolling Meadows; and Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association, based in Addison.

On Wednesday morning, families enjoy unlimited access to the festival, as well as a lunch of hot dogs and chips, provided by Tasty Catering, and ice cream from the local Dairy Queen.

“We always draw more than 200 people,” Beaupre says. “It's one of the neatest things we do.”

Fundraising remains the main focus for the Rotarians, they say. Proceeds from RotaryFest are split between local causes — local Scout troops, the Kenneth Young Center, lunch for seniors, PADS and the American Cancer Society among them — and international initiatives.

Over the years, Elk Grove Rotarians have partnered with Rotary International to help provide clean water to Third World countries, as well as wells in Africa, a trade school in Haiti, a new ambulance in India, and provide disaster relief through ShelterBox.

Somewhat surprisingly, Elk Grove's Rotary Club accomplishes all of this, with just 25 active members.

“We've very productive for the numbers we have,” Beaupre says, “but it's primarily because of the success of RotaryFest that we can do as much as we do.”