Cary Days: A classic fest to kick off the start of summer

Summer wouldn't be summer without the carnival rides, fireworks and beer.

And that is just how Cary Days, the festival organized by the Cary-Grove Jaycees, will celebrate the beginning of summer this weekend.

"Our greatest advantage is that we come first in the season, and we get the best carnival rides and have the first fireworks show of the year," Crystal Lake resident and Jaycees chairwoman Kelly Hulata said.

The beer garden will be fully stocked with Miller and Sam Adams beers and other alcoholic drinks as different local cover bands appear each night outside the beer garden for drinkers' entertainment.

Bash Avenue will kick things off today night with 1980s classic rock music. The Blind Roosevelts will perform classic rock from the 1990s, including John Mellencamp, on Friday night. The Dicky Pimpkins will perform all types of music, from reggae to classic rock, on Saturday night. Alex and the All Stars will perform classic rock spanning the 1970s through the 1990s and modern alternative music Sunday night.

But it's the rides that bring the people out to Cary Days.

"The carnival rides are the most popular thing we have because we get a lot of kids and teenagers at the festival," Hulata said.

The types of carnival rides run the gamut, from the gentle merry-go-round to the more extreme Fireball, a giant circle in which the rider goes around and around.

Saturday's car show will feature cars from all across the Chicago area, with a wide variety of antique and vintage automobiles.

New to this year's festival is the 50-50 scholarship raffle, in which half the money will go to the winner while the other half will go into a scholarship fund for a graduating local high school senior.

The event is the work of the Cary-Grove Jaycees, which pays for everything related to the event, from the police to parking attendants to fireworks.

All the event's funding comes from vendors, sponsorships, parking and the portion of the carnival ride proceeds the group receives from the carnival ride company.

The Jaycees group is still seeking more sponsors, because fewer local businesses have signed up due to the poor economy.

If you plan on going, you'll be in good company. Event organizers expect 20,000 people from around McHenry County to show up.

The festival takes place today, June 18 through Sunday, June 21, but its hours change daily. Today's festival hours are from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.,; Friday ends an hour later, and Saturday and Sunday each go from noon until 11 p.m.

On Sunday evening the festival will end with a bang with fireworks at dusk.

For details, check out carygrovejaycees.org/carydays.

<p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>What: Cary Days</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>When:</b> 6 to 10 p.m. today; 6 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Where:</b> Lions Park in Cary</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>How much?:</b> Admission is free; there is a charge for food, drink and carnival rides</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Info:</b> <a href="http://carygrovejaycees.org/carydays/" target="new">carygrovejaycees.org/carydays/</a></p>