Without Railroad Days, West Chicago keeps fireworks and parade going

Forced by construction to skip most of West Chicago Railroad Days this year, festival organizers wanted to make sure the community still can celebrate some of its favorite traditions.

Without the carnival, bands and festival fanfare, the Railroad Days parade and fireworks display are scheduled for this weekend.

Construction projects in Reed-Keppler Park, the site of recent Railroad Days celebrations, occasioned the break with tradition this year, city and park district officials said.

"The park was not available this year," said Rosemary Mackey, the city's marketing and communications coordinator. "We opted to abbreviate it and chose some of the more popular attractions."

The long-standing summer tradition has been presented by the city in cooperation with the park district. For the past several years, the city has contracted with the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce to run the festival.

"There was no suitable location. We looked at some alternative sites," said David Sabathne, chamber president and CEO.

During the construction, Reed-Keppler Park doesn't have room for a full-fledged festival but can accommodate the fireworks display and a post-parade picnic, organizers said.

The Railroad Days fireworks show begins at dusk Saturday, July 11, in the park, 129 W. National St., West Chicago. If severe weather threatens, the show will be postponed until Sunday night, Mackey said.

Spectators may watch the show from the park, and the fireworks also may be viewed from surrounding neighborhoods, she said.

The parade is set to step off at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 12, and will follow its traditional route south on Ingalton Avenue to Washington Street, west on Washington, and north on Arbor Avenue to Reed-Keppler Park. The parade route extends a little more than a mile.

Mayor Ruben Pineda will serve as parade grand marshal. Bands, horseback riders, government leaders and representatives of nonprofit organizations are expected to participate.

"We've got everybody, 55 to 60 units in there," Sabathne said.

Parade-watchers are invited to a picnic in the park after the parade, he said.

"It's a real old-fashioned kind of parade," Mackey said.

The annual Railroad Days celebration, a West Chicago icon for more than 40 years, usually runs four days and includes music, food, games and carnival rides in addition to fireworks and the parade.

"We've had people travel from out of the country to come to our shows," Sabathne said. "You could come and hear some really great musicians."

Artists including the late Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Foghat have played Railroad Days in years past, he said. Before this year's musical entertainment was canceled, he said, the Ides of March had been signed to perform, along with several regional bands.

Sabathne said the traditional format for Railroad Days, an homage to the city's roots as a rail town, historically has attracted 6,000 to 10,000 people each day. The fireworks show, he said, brings in an additional 4,000 visitors.

"It was an economic development tool," he said. "It was a branding tool for the community."

Reed-Keppler Park is the site of the new Athletics, Recreation, Community Center, know as the ARC, which opened last fall.

"Two years ago, we started construction on a new recreation center in Reed-Keppler Park. We informed the city and the chamber that the configuration of the park was changing," said Gary Major, West Chicago Park District executive director.

Railroad Days was moved to the park's baseball fields last year while construction continued, he said.

"It tore up the baseball fields," he said.

Parks officials suggested the festival could move this year to Kress Creek Farms Park, south of West Chicago Community High School, Major said, but emergency responders raised concerns about accessibility and safety.

Meanwhile, Major said, construction had started on another project in the park but was halted in progress due to funding problems.

The future of West Chicago Railroad Days' location appears uncertain, Sabathne said.

"We've been running this thing for at least 10 years. This is the last year of a three-year contract," he said. "We would like to go out with a flair instead of a fizzle."

"The city has stated they want to talk about it," Major said.

Mackey said the city will continue to look at alternatives.

"The park is no longer an appropriate location for it," she said. "We do want to spend time later this summer exploring options. We've been very pleased with the job the Western DuPage Chamber has done for us with Railroad Days. It's had a very long, long history with West Chicago. Certainly, we're all disappointed. We love this event. We're hoping to bring it back next year. It may not be exactly the same."

If you go

What: West Chicago Railroad Days Fireworks and Parade

Where: Reed-Keppler Park, 157 W. Washington St., West Chicago

When: Fireworks at dusk Saturday, July 11; parade at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 12

Cost: Free

Info: westchicago.org, we-goparks.org, westerndupagechamber.com