Heritage Fest needs volunteers

Never underestimate the importance of volunteers.

Without them, lines for food, beer and wine at festivals will be longer; agendas will be shorter, and community parties will take longer to clean up.

The more popular the festival, the stronger is the need for more volunteers.

In East and West Dundee one of those popular festivals is coming up - Heritage Fest takes place Friday through Sunday, Sept. 16-18 - and nearly 400 volunteers are needed to make sure lines aren't long and tickets are taken.

"The hardest time for us to find volunteers during Heritage Fest is on Friday and Saturday from 9-11 p.m.," said West Dundee Clerk and festival organizer Barb Traver. "People are tired from working all week. They just want to sit down and listen to music."

"The only thing is, there are about 4,000 people joining them in both villages who (also) want a cold beverage to enjoy while listening to music."

This conundrum is no problem, and it is nothing new. Heritage Fest has been going on for 19 years. In the weeks leading up to it every year, organizers put out the call and nervously await an answer.

"People always come through, though," Traver said.

In West Dundee, 200 volunteers will be needed to ensure the three-day party goes smoothly. East Dundee organizers will need 165 volunteers, said Erin Weingart, special events manager.

"We use our volunteers as gate greeters, wrist band checkers and to run the kids' games," she said. "We need fewer volunteers than last years, but we still need 165 people."

An estimated 15,000 people are expected to attend this year's festival in both villages. They will be browsing in the crafts, antique and car shows, listening to music, watching their children in games, and munching on food.

Without enough volunteers, people who have donated their time will be asked to work longer than the two-hour shifts in each village. After the first two hours, the spirit of community gets old, both women have said. Greeting, handing ice cold cans of pop and glasses of beer to revelers and checking wristbands becomes draining after the first two hours.

"Heritage Fest is a family-oriented community festival that is powered by local organizers and local volunteers," Weingart said. "We've made it easy to volunteers. Many of the jobs (in East Dundee) we have are seated jobs outside or jobs inside the Depot where people can cool off if it's hot."

In West Dundee, all of the jobs are outside under tents to keep the sun off volunteers' shoulders.

Local residents can look at the festival's website at wdundeeheritagefest.org to view the list of events in both villages and to sign up in West Dundee. In East Dundee, people can register to volunteer at signup.com.

People who have volunteered in the past already know when they want to work. Many of the same attractions will return this year as in the past. The fireworks display will be lighted at 8 p.m. on Friday over the Fox River from the footbridge.

The carnival will open at 5 p.m. on Friday in East Dundee.

Many of the attractions are at the Depot, along North River Street in East Dundee, behind downtown businesses and at Grafelman Park in West Dundee.

For more information about Heritage Fest, call the West Dundee village hall at (847) 551-3800 or the East Dundee village hall at (847) 426-2822.