Heritage Fest welcoming back fireworks and guest appearance from Jaime Hjelm
Heritage Fest, hosted by village of West Dundee, is celebrating its 26th year on Sept. 13-15 with a bang.
Its fireworks display, a feature that was absent last year, is returning.
The festival, dedicated to bringing the downtown community together, has increasingly grown in popularity over the years.
“Heritage Fest serves as a testament to the vibrancy of West Dundee’s community,” Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said in a news release. “It is a community celebration that showcases our historic downtown on the banks of the Fox River, and it is exciting to invite others to join.”
The event is centered around the Village Squire, at 125 Washington St. It then spreads out across downtown West Dundee.
Heritage Fest begins at 6 p.m. Friday, showcasing fireworks at 8 p.m. and lasting until 11 p.m. On Saturday, the festival begins at 8 a.m. with a 5K, then runs until 11 p.m. Sunday opens with a community pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m., and the festival will close at 5 p.m.
A car show run by J.P. Car Shows also will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. This year, celebrity guest judge Jaime Hjelm, from the popular “Tex Mex Motors” television series, is arriving Sunday to choose her favorite cars.
“She’s welded unique trophies for three specific car winners,” said Kim Tibbetts, village planner.
As a music-centered event, Heritage Fest invites various artists to perform alongside the craft fair and food vendors. Some include ARRA, Dundee Scottish Pipe Band, Starlites, and Modern Day Romeos.
Many of the artists and bands are local, including a Neil Diamond impersonator, according to Tibbetts.
Heritage Fest sponsors are the Dundee Lions Club, Wonderhunt, First Congregational Church of Dundee, Lakeshore Beverage, and Karas Restaurant Group.
“Without the generous support of our sponsors, we could not put on an event of this caliber as a free-to-attend event,” said Tibbetts.
More details can be found on wdundeeheritagefest.org.