Elk Grove Village plans series of events to mark 70th anniversary

Elk Grove Village is planning a series of special events, concerts, charitable efforts and other commemorations to celebrate its 70th anniversary this year.

Officials announced several ways the community will be able to mark the birthday — on and around the date of incorporation on July 17, and all throughout the year.

“Over the last 70 years, our community has risen from cornfields and farms to become a place where parents can raise their children in a safe community with great schools. We’re also a place where entrepreneurs, manufacturers and our entire workforce can work hard to earn an honest living,” Mayor Craig Johnson said.

“This is worth celebrating, so in 2026 we’ll be rolling out many special initiatives to highlight all that is great about Elk Grove Village, past, present and future.”

Highlights include a special birthday concert on July 17, which was added to the annual Mid-Summer Classics Concert Series featuring classic rock band Foreigner, followed by a fireworks display. It will coincide with the annual Rotary Fest taking place that weekend on Lions Drive near Elk Grove High School.

The concert series kicks off with country star Jake Owen and fireworks on July 4, on what is the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Earlier in the day, village officials plan to rededicate the historic Elk Grove Cemetery, which has been undergoing a maintenance and restoration project funded by private donations over the last year. The 38,000-square-foot graveyard next to the Jane Addams Tollway on-ramp at Arlington Heights Road is the final resting place of the only two known Revolutionary War veterans interred in Cook County.

Among the public service initiatives planned is the 1956 Food Drive Challenge, with the goal of gathering 1,956 items — a nod to the year the village was founded — for the Elk Grove Township Food Pantry.

Also scheduled are four Roll Up Your Sleeves and Save a Life blood drives from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 7, May 9, Aug. 1 and Dec. 12 at the village hall. Donors can get special Elk Grove Village swag, including socks, candles, goodie bags and holiday ornaments.

Officials are also planning a summer-long community scavenger hunt with a special grand prize.