Libertyville discovers its summer festival will hit the century mark

As is the case with any big community festival, advance work for Libertyville Days began months ago.

And though the schedule has been set for the Libertyville Civic Center Foundation's annual fundraiser in mid-June, a new wrinkle has surfaced that has organizers scrambling — in a good way.

“I was really surprised. It was a weird coincidence,” said Anne Carlino, director of the Libertyville Civic Center. A few weeks ago, while looking through old storage boxes for festival-related items to display, she came upon a brochure from the 1980s advertising a specific anniversary.

Doing the math, Carlino realized that according to what she had found, this year's edition would be the 100th. That has added a new dimension to the traditional community celebration in downtown Libertyville.

The theme “Celebrating the Spirit,” which already had been selected, was prophetic. In considering a slogan, festival planners wanted to reflect the old ways of a town coming together.

“It was kind of odd,” Carlino said. “I was just so glad we discovered it in time to promote it as the anniversary.”

While wholesale changes aren't expected, there will be some tweaks, such as a special opening ceremony.

“We're looking at some research to see if we can find any more information from 1912,” said Dee Cox, co-chairman of the festival planning group. “We're going to try and work it in and make it fun.”

Meanwhile, newspaper and other accounts, including records in the attic at village hall, will be searched for any actions town officials may have taken a century ago regarding a community event of this nature.

Verifying the anniversary could be a challenge. A check of the Independent Register newspaper for the summer of 1912 showed information regarding the Lake County Fair and fairs in Waukegan but nothing regarding a local fair or festival, said Arlene Lane, a research librarian for the Cook Memorial Public Library District.

The original research was done in the 1980s at the request of Civic Center officials.

“I really don't recall why we got into it other than we knew it was going on a long time,” said Duane Laska, president of the Civic Center Foundation at the time. He later served 14 years on the village board, including eight as mayor, retiring in 2005.

The reference reportedly was found in village board minutes from 1912, but unearthing it today is another matter. What the original celebration involved also is unknown.

What is certain is Libertyville Days has been celebrated in many ways and in various locations. In the early 1950s, it was known as the Firemen's Festival and later as Frontier Days.

“Businessmen in town would grow handlebar mustaches,” recalled Mayor Terry Weppler, who long served as the festival chairman. “All the shopkeepers would wear six guns on their hips. In those days, the carnival rides would be spread up and down Milwaukee Avenue.”

By the late 1960s, Libertyville Days became the moniker that has stuck. It was held for some time in a shopping center parking lot, and even tried at Butler Lake Park, but that was short-lived because of a lack of space.

This year's event is four days, June 14-17, and is packed with a variety of activities, music, food and other attractions.

“It's one of those neat traditions,” Laska said. “I'm sure the celebrations 100 years ago were a lot simpler.”