Palatine to hire Chicago events manager to run Street Fest

Palatine will use a Chicago event management company to oversee the 25th edition of its annual Street Fest.

The village council has given the village manager permission to enter into a contract with Chicago Special Events Management to conduct the fest, held in late August in downtown Palatine.

The village sent out a request for proposals in the fall and received responses from four firms, with Chicago Special Events Management submitting the preferred proposal, Deputy Village Manager Hadley Skeffington-Vos said.

The village will pay a management fee of $15,000, lower than the $18,500 it spent last year. Last year’s event was handled by Duff Entertainment.

The firm will share in 5% of revenue and 18% from sponsorships, compared to 25% from last year.

“They were well vetted and highly recommended, and we feel that we would save 20% to 30% over last year's contractual costs, mostly due to a lower management fee and sponsorship sharing,” Skeffington-Vos said. “They also own a warehouse where they keep a lot of the equipment and rentals that we would have paid more for in the past.”

The firm manages events for not-for-profit and business organizations. Its summer events include the Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest, the Windy City Hot Dog Fest and the Lincoln Park Greek Fest, all in Chicago.

This year’s Palatine Street Fest will be held Aug. 22-24 in downtown Palatine at Slade and Brockway streets and Towne Square.