Weekend a financial washout

Lake County residents trying to squeeze some last moments of fun out of summer were disappointed last weekend when downpours canceled outdoor events.

But the loss may have been even greater for event organizers, considering the time and money involved.

Karen Christian-Smith, executive director of the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce, says she can't even estimate how much money was lost due to cancellations at Grayslake's annual Summer Days celebration.

Live music was canceled Saturday night, as was all of Sunday's events, including the Summer Days Parade.

"We're going to be financially impacted," Christian-Smith said, noting the last band Saturday night was scrapped, but band members contractually had to be paid anyway.

Such cancellations are a first for Summer Days.

"We've never had to cancel an entire day," she said. "This is a first."

Though the Lake County RV and Camper Show went on as planned at the fairgrounds over the weekend, Sunday's Fox Lake Cardboard Boat Race had to be rescheduled for Sept. 9.

Village parks and recreation Coordinator Nancy Rogers said the village canceled the event because the rain would have sunk the boats before they even had a chance to race.

The event -- in its 11th year -- was scrapped two years ago and replaced by a redo of the annual Fox Lake fireworks celebration. Due to a glitch in 2005, the fireworks over the Chain O' Lakes did not go off as planned and organizers canceled the boat race and redid the celebration instead.

Rescheduling the Summer Days activities or parade are not an option in Grayslake, Christian-Smith said.

"To reschedule would be a logistics nightmare," she said.

In Vernon Hills, bad weather and ground saturation is forcing organizers to move the Arbortheater outdoor movie scheduled for Thursday. Instead, it will play inside the Sullivan Center, 635 N. Aspen Drive.