Carol Stream festival deemed a 'success' despite bad weather

The rain seemed to start on cue Sunday afternoon, just minutes after Carol Stream's Summer in the Center fest kicked off its fourth and final day.

With steady rain falling and high winds blowing for the first two hours of the fest, organizers hurried to secure tents, sweep water puddles and keep festivities in tact for when the skies cleared.

As the sun emerged later in the afternoon, bands took the stage, concession stands opened and rides got moving.

"People are starting to trickle in," said Chris Oakley, Carol Stream's assistant to the village manager.

Almost everything remained on schedule throughout the four-day fest, with bands like Queen Nation and Mockstar taking the stage Saturday night despite storm warnings, and the Karen Hart Band rockin' on Sunday once the rain cleared.

Only a few features of the fest were canceled, such as an information booth for Superstar Karate of Carol Stream.

Deanna Mustafa, Pip Triggs and Ian O'Reilly of Superstar Karate performed a martial arts demonstration Saturday. But on Sunday they closed shop on their info booth shortly after the fest's noon start.

"At one point, the organizers told us to get to our cars because they wanted us to be safe," Mustafa said.

Ultimately, organizers said Summer in the Center succeeded despite unreliable weather and lower-than-hoped-for attendance.

Oakley said many devoted residents braved the elements to check out the food, rides and music.

"In these kind of situations you ask, 'If the weather was better, would more people have showed up?'" said Oakley. "They didn't show up in the amounts we would have liked, but I think the success of these things is when people come out and stay. This weekend people stayed, and we got rave reviews about the food, so that's how we look at it."