Northbrook Days ready to rock its new site
The 97th Northbrook Days Festival is back and intact.
The fest, which kicked off Wednesday, runs through Sunday, Aug. 8, at the West Metra commuter parking lot, 1401 Shermer Road. Food, rides, bands, the big $10,000 grand prize raffle, the whole enchilada.
Festival chairman Matt Settler is looking forward to it.
"I think the site offers the opportunity for the event to be back downtown and all of the components being in one location," he said. "It offers the opportunity to have the food, rides, games, entertainment and the raffle all in one spot.
"But a big focus is being back downtown. Local businesses can get the foot traffic, and it does get that aspect back into the community."
Last year all but the Northbrook Days raffle was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 model saw an 11th-hour move to a Northbrook Court mall parking lot.
This year's festival will not be held in its historic Village Green setting. Nonetheless, Settler likes what he's got in the commuter lot.
"A lot of it is going to be very similar to what we've always had," he said. "This is going to be the first year that we're going to be back in full swing."
He didn't say if the West Metra lot would be a permanent location, taking a wait-and-see stance as to how this site benefits Northbrook Days, which historically draws around 30,000 people over the five days.
The festival is following Centers for Disease Control guidance. Settler said people who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19 are recommended to wear masks, though proof of vaccination or negative test results are not required for admittance.
There'll be more than a dozen festival rides, the carnival games, food, wine and beer, and live music on each day. A bags tournament was held Wednesday night; another new attraction comes from 6-9:45 p.m. Thursday, a 9-hole, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course.
Under the auspices of the Northbrook Civic Foundation, the festival delivers more than just a good time. Since 1950, the Northbrook Days Festival has given back more than $3 million in the form of grants to local organizations and need-based scholarships for college-bound Northbrook students.
Raffle drawings, with tickets $10 each, will be held each night for prizes. Once at least 2,000 raffle tickets are sold, it triggers the $10,000 cash prize to be drawn at 8:45 p.m. Aug. 8 in the Grand Prize Tent. A grand prize raffle ticket includes a free car wash at sponsor Waterway Carwash, 2300 Waukegan Road.
"I'm pretty sure they'll sell more than 2,000," Settler said.
Tickets will be available on-site; on the Northbrook Days website, www.northbrookdays.com/grandprize; and this week at select businesses.
As far as business, Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Tensley Garris likes the festival being in the heart of the village.
"Bringing Northbrook Days back to downtown has some real benefits for our local businesses. It attracts thousands of visitors to the area along with the local community," she said.
"We hope that guests will take the short walk from the train station to enjoy a meal or visit the stores when they're ready to take a break from the action at the festival."
The action will run late. Off the Record, which plays rock cover songs from the 1960s on up, plays from 8-9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Blotto, metropolitan favorites, headlines from 8:30-10:30 p.m. Friday.
Saturday's entertainment starts at noon with players from the Glenbrook School of Rock, and concludes a four-band day with The Van Halen Invasion from 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Sunday's finale begins at 1 p.m. with players from Northbrook's Bach to Rock school, continues with Supernatural from 4-6 p.m. and concludes from 6:45-8:45 p.m. with Keith Semple, who will play with guitarist Valentine Bennett as a duo with the oomph of a full band.
Semple, from Larne in Northern Ireland, came to the States to be the lead singer for another popular band, 7th heaven. A former finalist on "The Voice," he left 7th heaven after 2013 to form the SEMPLE Band, and also leads a strong progressive rock group, The Cyberiam.
At Northbrook Days, Semple will perform everything from The Beatles to Dua Lipa to Eric Church to The Killers, with some originals as well.
"We don't do many duo shows because our schedule is so busy with the whole band. Usually, we do two or three the whole summer," said Semple, who's been back performing for live audiences since around May, his schedule hot and heavy. "We're sort of a fun bit of a comedy show as well when we play duo," he said.
That's because Semple and Bennett are funny guys. But they're all about music, and artists are fired up to be performing in front of live audiences.
So is Settler.
"We are very excited to have the event again," he said. "It's been a long time and I think people are very eager. Our committee put in a lot of hard work over the last six weeks, and I think people are going to be very pleased."