Heat, hot bands keep attendance steady or up at local festivals

The sagging economy did not hurt attendance overall at the Northwest suburbs' Fourth of July festivals, and several fests report they had more visitors this year than last.

Overall the weather stayed clear for the holiday weekend, as Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bartlett, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect and Palatine all ran multiday festivals over the holiday weekend.

In Barrington, Fourth of July Celebration Committee co-chair Trey Morris estimated this year's attendance was up by about 10 percent over 2009.

In Arlington Heights, organizers of Frontier Days estimate 75,000 to 100,000 people attended the five-day fest, which they say is consistent with other years.

At Palatine's Hometown Fest, good weather and a strong Saturday night musical lineup helped keep attendance on par with years' past, but organizers won't know how large a profit was turned for at least several weeks, Palatine Jaycees spokesman Bill Pohlman.

"We want to keep the festival fresh, but we're not looking at making any major changes next year," Pohlman said.

"We're very happy with the run," said LeAnn Lenz of Arlington Heights, who co-chaired Frontier Days with David Wiltse, an Arlington Heights resident and attorney for the city of Des Plaines.

"The numbers are pretty consistent with recent years," Lenz said. "We lucked out with getting (only) about five minutes of rain on Saturday, and the heat actually served as a draw."

Free concerts by Night Ranger and Dennis DeYoung were big draws. DeYoung, former lead singer of the band Styx, attracted nearly 15,000 people alone.

Which surprised nobody - he headlined the fest two years ago, and was a blockbuster. For that reason, the entertainment committee members invited him back.

"It's our 35th anniversary," said Bill Peery, entertainment chairman. "We're trying to make it the 'best of the best.'"

Barrington's fest started out slow, said Morris, "but our Friday and Saturday were just gigantic."

"It probably had a lot to do with the fact that we had the Barrington (High School) Alumni Night on Friday, along with the band Sixteen Candles."

Despite these events, the festivals program was nearly identical to last year's, Morris said.

Attendance at the Barrington Fourth of July parade was also up, which parade chair Melissa Bingham attributed to the great weather.

"I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the weather," she said. "It was an absolutely spectacular day."

Based on food and beverage sales, more people attended this year's Mount Prospect Lions Club Festival compared to past years, said Bill Steiner, president of the Mount Prospect Lions Club.

The most popular day was the Fourth of July because of the fireworks, Steiner added.

He said food and beverage vendors seemed pleased with sales, and that the parade was as packed as ever with spectators.