The history of Sleepy Hollow's Fourth of July festival
It started as a family picnic more than 40 years ago.
One Sleepy Hollow neighbor had relatives over for a Fourth of July barbecue and invited a neighbor to join them. The second year, it went pretty much the same way. Add a few more years, and the informal party grew legs and was organized into a daylong party with a fishing derby, fun run, parade, car show and fireworks display.
The legs that it grew belong to members of the not-for-profit Sleepy Hollow Service Club. For months each year, members plan events and hope that Mother Nature doesn't rain on them.
"Through the years, we've have a lot of good weather," said Greg Ehmann, club spokesman. "We can't complain."
On Saturday when the 1-mile run starts at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School at 8 a.m., no one will be complaining because it will reach back to the days when a group of families fired up their Weber grills and shared their food.
This time, though, the general public is invited to the barbecue. The food will not be free, but it will still be neighbor cooking for neighbor.
The fishing derby, which starts at 9 a.m., will be held at Lake Sharon. The parade starts at 11:30 a.m. at the public swimming pool. Everyone is invited to march around Sabatino Park with local officials, police officers and firefighters.
Awards will be given for the best floats.
The car show runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the park.
The centerpiece of the day will be the annual fireworks show in the park. The show is free, but volunteers will be asking the driver of each car for a $5 donation.
"The service club pays for the fireworks show," Ehmann said. "It costs about $15,000. We usually have about 1,000 drive to the park, so the parking donation covers half the cost."
Sleepy Hollow's fireworks show is the only display to be lighted on the Fourth of July in Dundee Township. The Dundee Township Park Districts hosted its show on June 27.
"It's really a lot of fun planning the Fourth of July events. It's a still a group of residents getting together and doing something for the village," Ehmann said.
Service Club members also plan a Halloween party and bonfire in October and a holiday party in December.
For information about the Service Club or the July 4 events, click on the group's link on the village's website at sleepyhollowil.org.