Villa Park throws 'community block party'

As communities around Villa Park stage multiday festivals, drawing visitors from all over the region, organizers of the town's annual Summerfest have a different goal.

"We want to keep it a community event," Summerfest Chairman Mike Gats said.

Summerfest, dubbed the "community's largest block party," entices residents to come together and enjoy all that Villa Park offers - local food and local entertainment. Activities encourage neighbors to hang out, and volunteers make the party happen.

Summerfest is 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, June 17, and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18, in the Ardmore Business District.

But focusing on hometown fun doesn't mean the festival hasn't grown over its 11 years, said Gats, who is in his third year as chairman of the Summerfest Commission. Gats has volunteered with the festival since its inception.

"It's grown a lot of different ways," he said. "We've added a lot of children's activities, our food vendors have grown, entertainment has grown."

Summerfest started as a one-day festival, but so many residents and so many vendors wanted to take part that, four years ago, organizers added another day with a car show. Along the way, they brought in more bands and and more food for Friday night.

The bands playing at Summerfest are local; many have volunteered and played at the festival before. Organizers try to keep the food and other entertainment local as well.

The festival will feature food from Fire Water BBQ, Tae Fu Chinese Restaurant and Michael Anthony's Pizza. Bands such as Minors of Rock, Fenced In and In Session will perform. Kids can go to a magic show, ride a 100-foot zip line, climb a rock wall, try Euro Bungy and tackle obstacle courses.

For adults, there will be a beer tent sponsored by the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce, a car show, a bags tournament and a business fair.

The nine-person Summerfest commission meets year-round to plan the festival, said commission member Patty Ruiz. They all take on different tasks, such as finding sponsors, vendors, artists and crafters or asking community groups to consider participating in the festival or donating.

"This week, it's crunchtime," Ruiz said. "We're trying to get it all together."

Various volunteers are ex-commission members themselves who come around each year to help at the event. More than 50 volunteers are scheduled to work Saturday, and the police and fire departments and Villa Park Parks and Recreation staff members help out as well.

"This event is sponsored, if anything, by volunteers," Ruiz said. "All these people come out, do different duties, and help out, and it brings us together as a little village."

Ruiz says it's always a different crowd that comes out every year, and they rely on the weather to help make the event a success.

"The whole day, we pray and keep our fingers crossed for good weather," Gats said, though the event will go on rain or shine.

He said while the day is tremendously supported by local residents, they still welcome visitors from surrounding towns.

"Our goal was never to have this become an event that was a revenue source," Gats said. "We put everything back into the event that we gained from it, and we try to keep all our activities and costs as low as possible, just to celebrate our community and grow it."

Though the commissioners work hard all year planning a two-day festival, they say it's all worth it.

"I take pride in being a part of the commission," Ruiz said. "Knowing you get to do this for our village, it's a great feeling. It is time consuming, it is a lot of work, but the day of, we have a blast."

Gats agrees.

"(It's) a lot of hard work, but it's great to give back to the community, and what better way than to help throw our community's largest block party?" Gats said. "It's very rewarding."

For more information, visit villaparksummerfest.com.