Elgin budget cuts take some fun out of summer festival

Like many community groups, the Elgin Community Crisis Center has seen donations sag and needs skyrocket during the recession.

But the group was dealt another blow this week when it learned the annual Fox River Festival of Balloons - a fundraiser for the center - will be a budget causalty.

Elgin city leaders hope to save $100,000 by slashing the city's participation in that festival, and Rib Fest in May, and scrapping its entire Fourth of July fireworks display.

Gretchen Vapnar, the crisis center's executive director, said the festival raised nearly $20,000 for the center, which aids more than 6,000 battered women and children each year and acts as a last resort food pantry.

"We can't afford to do it on our own. We need the help of the city," she said. "This was a good partnership. I'm really sad we're not able to build on the popularity of balloonfest, but I understand it."

Elgin spokeswoman Sue Olafson said the city hopes to save $100,000 by cutting participation in the two festivals and the pyrotechnics display.

The city is still working with the Downtown Neighborhood Association to put on the Fourth of July parade, she said.

For the first time, the city also will charge a $5 admission fee at August's FoxFireFest ($10 after 5 p.m.) and is adjusting the way the city puts on events at the Hemmens Cultural Center to cut back on losses there.

"We just cannot afford to do everything for free anymore. It's a nominal fee. It's costs more to go to a movie," said Cherie Murphy, the city's marketing officer, of the $5 FoxFireFest admission fee.

Last year, Blues Traveler headlined FoxFireFest and the city spent $250,000 for the three-day event. This time around it's a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band leading the bill and the festival has been condensed to two days.

"We're taking a look at everything month by month and assessing the budget to determine what is the best direction," Olafson said.

Apparently, the city's finances have deteriorated.

Milt Evans, who started Rib Fest in 1993, said he received the green light from city officials in December to start securing vendors.

But he later learned the festival - which grew from a neighborhood cookout to an event that drew 5,000 people - would no longer receive city support.

Evans' initial reaction was to hold a scaled-back version at Walton Island on the Fox River, but realized it would be a logistical nightmare because the area does not have infrastructure like electricity, running water and washrooms for rib vendors and large crowds.

He said his group will wait until 2010 to see if the economy improves and the city reinstates its support.

"We opted not to go to a neighboring community at this time because (Rib Fest) is an Elgin-based activity," Evans said. "I didn't make it a big issue. I was upset. I was disappointed. It was a growing event."