Better, not bigger, the focus of this year's Last Fling in Naperville

With a focus on better, not bigger, organizers of the Jaycees' Last Fling are putting the final touches on the celebration this Labor Day weekend in downtown Naperville.

While visitors will recognize many elements from the previous 55 events — the carnival, the music, the food and the drinks — the Last Fling won't have the expansive footprint of past years when the festivities spread for one square mile and included Rotary Hill and Naper Settlement.

Building on positive feedback from last year's scaled-down celebration, the Last Fling will encompass six blocks along Jackson Avenue. The business expo and food vendors will be from Main Street to Eagle Street, and the carnival will take place west to Ewing Street.

“We've been working toward scaling it back for five or six years,” spokeswoman Karen Coleman said. “The last 10 years, we learned the larger event wasn't really sustainable because of increasing costs year to year. We investigated a way to scale the event back and still have it be what the Fling was intended to be as a community gathering.”

The Last Fling runs Friday through Monday with live music each day. The carnival will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday.

The parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. Special Olympics champions Ryan Gronowski, Lou Pisani and Peter Silagi will serve as marshals. There's family-friendly entertainment every day, and a Special Needs Day is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Visitors with special needs will receive priority, no-wait seating on rides.

Even with the smaller footprint, about 100,000 people are expected to attend over the four-day period.

Coleman said the Naperville Jaycees depend on the Last Fling for about 80% of their annual fundraising, which can reach $250,000 annually. In the last 20 years, the Jaycees have donated more than $2 million to nonprofit organizations in Naperville and throughout DuPage County.

“We're really looking forward to having the community back out here,” Coleman said. “It should be a great weekend.”