Winfield revels in Good Old Days
The kooky events that give Winfield's Good Old Days its small-town luster are only part of what draws people back, organizers say.
It's also that the end-of-summer festival affords the chance to reconnect.
"People come back because that's where they'll see someone they haven't seen in years," said Tony Reyes, chairman of the Good Old Days Committee.
"It draws people from all over the country," said David Sabathne, president and CEO of the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce. "It's kind of a homecoming."
The festival runs Friday to Sunday, Sept. 11 to 13, in the village's downtown at Beecher Avenue and Church Street. Reyes said an outdoor scholarship fundraising dinner Thursday, Sept. 10, serves as an unofficial kickoff for the festival.
The festival serves up live music from local bands, as well as food, games, rides, contests and a parade - along with a few unusual events.
A meatball eating contest at 2 p.m. Saturday will have contestants chowing down competitively.
"They're given one minute to see who can eat the most meatballs. Each contestant is given a nickname. It's hilarious," Reyes said.
Meanwhile, the Winfield Historical Society launches its shoe-kicking contest from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday. The Winfield Lions Club's annual bags tournament runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, while an egg toss contest is 2:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Sunday features a plastic duck race from 10 to 11 a.m. on the West Branch of the DuPage River that runs through Lions Park.
Reyes said Good Old Days got started right around the time he moved to town as a child in 1965. He said he's rarely missed a Good Old Days celebration, recalling several wacky events from past celebrations, including a charity fundraiser with a twist.
"One year, everybody who was going to go to Good Old Days, you'd better have a mustache or a beard, or they'd put you in 'jail,'" he said, adding that bail was set at $1, a charity donation.
There also have been bed races, which involved metal box springs on rollers pushed down the street with passengers aboard.
"Another year they had the all-volunteer fire department, this was about 1970, they had set up an old car at the corner and they bought a bunch of sledgehammers," Reyes said. "For a dollar, you could beat on that car as long as you want."
This year, the Good Old Days Parade will wind its way down a three-quarter mile route beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday near the corner of Winfield Road and Beecher Avenue.
"The theme this year, which is most important to us, is honoring our veterans," Reyes said. Vietnam veteran and former Winfield Township highway commissioner Joe Jedlovec will serve as grand marshal, he said.
Sabathne said there will be more carnival rides geared for younger children than in the past. There also will be hay wagon rides, a petting zoo and a beer tent. And Reyes said the park district has planned a teen dance from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Reyes said the festival is presented through the joint efforts of volunteers from several organizations, including the Lions Club, the Knights of Columbus, the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce, the Winfield Junior Woman's Club and the Winfield Park District, with the cooperation of the village. Proceeds will go to several charitable organizations, he said.
"It's more about fun for kids, a place for families to gather, a place to say hello to an old friend, a place to say goodbye to summer," Reyes said.
If you go
What: Winfield Good Old Days
When: 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13; scholarship fundraiser 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10
Where: Church Street and Beecher Avenue, Winfield
Admission: Free
Info: westerndupagechamber.com