Elburn Days celebrating 94th year with parade, live music, tractor pull and more Aug. 19-21
Elburn Days returns for its 94th year on Aug. 19-21. The Elburn Lions Club's family friendly festival features a parade, carnival rides, live music, food, craft show, 4-H auction, petting zoo, tractor pull, and mud volleyball.
In 1934, the Elburn Lions Club first hosted the annual event, then known as "A Day in the Park." It has been club's largest annual fundraiser supports Lions Park and Elburn Lions Charities, the nonprofit arm of the club. Elburn Lions Charities serves the community through donations to local food pantries, local families in need, and local service groups to international disaster relief efforts through Lions International.
Each year, the festival kicks off with a parade featuring floats and parade units from local clubs, organizations, and businesses. The theme of this year's parade is "Elburn Lions: Soar to the Skies for Eyes." It steps off at 6 p.m. Friday, heading along Route 47 from Pierce Street to South Street.
Music stage
The Main Stage is located at the south end of Lions Park, near the beer garden along Stetzer Ave.
Whiskey Romance will open the festival music stage from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, Analog Jackson will be playing in the beer garden from noon to 3 p.m. Head Honchos will take the stage from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, performing a mix of American blues, rock, soul, and funk. Then Lolla will play hits from your favorite Lollapalooza artists like The Killers, Twenty One Pilots, Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly and more from 8 to 11 p.m.
On Sunday, Junkyard Groove takes the stage from 2 to 4 p.m. and classic rock band ARRA will close out the festival from 5 to 8 p.m.
Enjoy music and a cold brew in the beer garden from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Tickets sales end a half-hour before the beer garden closes. Tickets are good for all three days. The beer garden also features a separate family friendly area.
Community stage
The community stage opens with a Glow Party at 8 p.m. Friday.
On Saturday, the Elburn Leos will hold an induction ceremony at 10:30 a.m. M&M Dance and Empower Dance Company will perform at 12:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., Elevations Dance will take the community stage at 1:30 p.m. A free hip-hop class will be led by Miss Brianna and Miss Taylor at 2:30 p.m.
There will be a musical theater performance of "Toy Story" at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday; it will be followed by photos with the characters.
On the weekend, there will be free tattoos, coloring station, games for age 7 or younger, Giant Jenga, and a giant coloring page from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Free face painting will be offered on Sunday.
On Sunday, the festival will open with a worship service in the park at 10 a.m. Kids, age 2 to 5, can join a free dance class with Tiny Tu-2s with Miss Maggie at 1:30 p.m. Scott Piner will bring "Roaming Magic" from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
M&M Dance and Empower Dance Company will return to the community stage at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Dance Dynamics will close out the community stage with their performance at 4:15 p.m.
Craft show
Check out the local arts and handmade goods at the Elburn Chamber of Commerce's craft show from 5-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Truck/tractor pulls
On Saturday, the Illini State Pullers' Truck and Tractor Pulls returns for the 45th year from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admittance to the event is $5 for ages 13 or older.
Pie-baking contest
The Blackberry Masonic Lodge 569 is hosting a pie-baking contest on Sunday in the Lions' banquet hall. Registration will be 8 to 9 a.m. with judging beginning at 9:15 a.m. The winners and prizes will be announced at 10:30 a.m. The categories will be fruit, nut, and other, with a grand prize of $100, first prizes of $50, and runner-up prizes for $25.
Mud volleyball
The mud volleyball tournament will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with six-person coed teams. There must be a minimum of two women per team.
Bingo
Join the bingo games from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday. You must be 18 years of age or older to play. All games are $1 each. The Lions will also be selling pull tabs during bingo. Pull tabs are also $1 each.
Carnival
Carnival rides will be 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 8 p.m. with wristband specials from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Raffles
The Elburn Lions Club hosts a car raffle every year. Tickets are on sale at the Lions Club and other local businesses. Tickets are $20 each. Only 3,750 tickets are sold.
The winner will receive the choice of a 2022/2023 Chevy car or truck from Bob Jass Chevrolet in Elburn or $30,000 cash. (Vehicle not to exceed $40,000). The second prize is $2,022 cash and third prize is $500 cash.
The drawing will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday, or as soon as possible after that date when all tickets are sold. The final draw date is Oct. 2. Tickets can be purchased at the Elburn Days festival booth or online at elburn-lions-car-raffle.square.site/.
Elburn Days 50/50 tickets also are available online for $5 each via club members, local businesses or online at elburn-lions-club-5050-raffle.square.site/. Tickets will be on sale at the park during the festival. Last year, the pot was over $10,000. The lucky winner will be selected at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21. Profits will go to projects that aid the community and seeing impaired.
For more information on times and events, visit www.elburnlions.com/elburn-days/.