Saturday's floods drowned out more than good times

For many civic organizations serving Elk Grove Village, last weekend's Rotary Fest had been the light at the end of the economy's long dark tunnel.

But Mother Nature proved no more merciful than the market when severe thunderstorms and resulting flooding from Salt Creek wiped out attendance on Saturday.

This serious crimp in what was expected to be the biggest of the annual fest's five days probably cost the community tens of thousands of dollars the Rotary Club was hoping to generate for local organizations, Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said Monday.

Though a large tent on the festival grounds was designed to provide shelter from the rains above, it could do nothing against the flooding from the creek.

"We've got to modify that dam in Busse Woods," Johnson said, reiterating a long-running concern about how the dam functions. "They were hurt severely by the weather."

Saturday's weather also resulted in the cancellation of the 6 p.m. Hometown Parade and the evening fireworks display.

The parade costs the village $15,000 to $20,000 and its contracts will be honored as the cancellation was no fault of the groups that were scheduled to appear, Johnson said.

But the fireworks contractor agreed to defer Saturday's display to make those on the Fourth of July and the two nights of the Tour of Elk Grove bike race in August even bigger.

About 40 percent of last Saturday's intended fireworks will be added on to the Fourth of July display, while both nights of the bike race will receive 30 percent each, Johnson said.

In comparison, visitors to Mount Prospect's Blues Fest didn't see any rain or flooding problems on Saturday, said Maura El Metennani, the village's public information officer.

"We lucked out with the weather and the acts were awesome," she said.

Last year about 5,000 people attended. This year about 6,000 people stopped by the Blues Fest at some point on Saturday evening, El Metennani said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Sheila Ahern contributed to this article.