Geneva’s Swedish Days parade canceled

There won’t be a Swedish Days parade in Geneva this year.

The Geneva Chamber of Commerce announced the cancellation Monday.

“It was a very tough decision,” said Michael Olesen, chair of the chamber’s board of directors.

A main factor was the benefit the parade brings to the five-day festival, especially the nonprofit groups that sell food at it. Several churches sell Swedish food and desserts, and the Geneva Lions Club typically sells grill items and sweet corn.

“The day of the parade has never been a great day for the sales of their food items,” Olesen said.

Also, parade participation and attendance has declined in recent years, he said, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January, the chamber’s treasurer told the Geneva City Council that unless the city gave more money for the festivals it puts on, the chamber might not be able to do them.

Besides Swedish Days, which is June 24-28 this year, the chamber also puts on an arts fair in July, the Festival of the Vine in the fall and the Christmas Walk in December.

Olesen said instead of spending money on the parade, the chamber will use that money to hire a band to perform that day, and have other activities, in an attempt to boost Sunday attendance and help the nonprofit fundraisers.

The chamber started the festival in 1950. The parade always was held on Sunday. It was canceled in 2020, when the whole festival was called off due to the pandemic.

The city contributed about $189,000 to the chamber for the festivals in 2023, and $50,000 in 2024, according to a March Kane County Chronicle article.

The city also contributes police and fire services, and trash pickup.

In March, the chamber asked the council for $150,000 for this year’s festivals.

The chamber’s 2024 tax return, the latest available, shows that in 2024 it cost the chamber $572,024 to do the festival. It took in $291,594. The Christmas Walk and Festival of the Vine also operated in the red.

Olesen is confident the festival will still be fun without the parade.

“Swedish Days has evolved over 75 years. Swedish Days has always changed,” Olesen said.

Additional details about the 2026 Swedish Days schedule can be found at genevachamber.com.