Civil War battle on tennis court attracts ... Ben Franklin?

Organizers of Heritage Fest hope they have come up with a solution to avoid a potentially window-shattering problem when their three-day party starts Sept. 14.

Many of the attractions will be held in Cal Grafelman Park, including an antique sale and Civil War battle re-enactment.

The antique vendors will offer historic furniture and fine glassware. The Civil War-era actors will bring their tents, uniforms, rifles and a cannon to recreate a battle. When fired, this cannon doesn't shoot cannonballs. It's loud, though, and it has been known to shake the ground -- along with the windows of nearby houses.

Both the antique show and the battle re-enactment are scheduled for Sept. 15 and 16.

"We didn't have this problem last year," said Barb Haines, one of the fest's organizers. "The antique show went on Saturday and Sunday and the cannon was shot off only on Friday.

"But this year, the Civil War actors want to shoot the cannon off on Saturday and Sunday."

Therein lies the problem.

The solution is putting the Civil War actors behind the park's tennis courts. Hopefully, the chain-link fence and tennis courts will muffle some of the noise. The antique dealers will be placed close to Route 72 within the park.

If the plan becomes a reality, the cannon will be close to where actors posing as Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah, will be camped.

That might sound strange given that Franklin died in 1790, but there's a reason he'll be there: Heritage Fest organizers schedule attractions that draw attention to history.

Cal Grafelman Park was named to honor a West Dundee village president who died in 1997. For decades, Grafelman owned one of the last Ben Franklin department stores in the state.

"I think Cal would get a laugh out of having an actor posing as Ben Franklin in his park," Haines said. "He'd probably want to hang out with him."

Heritage Fest is sponsored by the village of West Dundee. It includes a Friday night fireworks display on the footbridge that connects East Dundee and West Dundee, and craft and food vendors and live entertainment.

Besides those in the park, other attractions are held along Lincoln Avenue and behind the West Main Street shops.

Organizers are still looking for craft vendors to fill the booths along Lincoln Avenue. Last year, they had 90. So far, 60 have signed up. They are also looking for antique dealers to fill about 10 booths in the park.

Crafters should call Robin Reed at (630) 365-2753. Antique dealers should call Angie Rodstrom at (847) 370-9366 if they want to take part in the fest.

None of the antique dealers should worry about their glassware being too close to the cannon, Haines said.