DuPage residents rally to keep festivals alive

Susan Lancaster has a passion for Bloomingdale.

As a lifelong resident and daughter of Viola Morrisroe, Bloomingdale's first and so far only female village president, Lancaster feels the town's pulse as she walks through its parks, shops in its stores and visits with neighbors.

Now she worries that pulse is slowing as both Bloomingdale's Family Fest and Septemberfest fall victims to the recession. Following a regional trend that started last summer, officials eliminated both annual celebrations in 2010 to cut costs as the village struggles with flat property tax revenues, falling sales tax profits and reductions in state aid.

Addison, for example, cited many of the same problems this spring when officials eliminated its annual July 4 fireworks show, a tradition in the village for more than 25 years.

Larger municipalities such as Naperville and even Chicago are not immune; Naperville eliminated its Naper Days festival while Chicago not only canceled Venetian Night but this year will replace its mammoth July 3 fireworks display with three smaller fireworks shows July 4.

Back in Bloomingdale, Lancaster is trying to turn the tide by rallying her neighbors to save Septemberfest, an event her mother headed for seven years.

"I grew up going to Septemberfest and it was always part of the end of summer," she said. "It was the chance to catch up with everyone in town, when kids would come home from college and see what's been happening. It was very Bloomingdale."

To make it happen, she has plenty of inspiration. Several towns throughout DuPage County have taken steps to rescue their fests this year, using a variety of creative solutions that are keeping the music, funnel cakes and fireworks around at least one more time.

Lombard adds a feeWhen Lombard's village board decided in March it could no longer afford to underwrite the Taste of Lombard and Fourth of July fireworks, 3,000 residents signed a petition in support of the festival. A Facebook group dedicated to saving the Taste quickly grew to more than 4,300 members. That support provided the impetus for the Lombard Jaycees, sponsors of the 28-year-old event, to reach an agreement with the village and park district to charge a $2 gate fee for patrons 13 and older. The pact calls for the village to provide $55,000 to cover festival expenses and for the Jaycees to reimburse it with proceeds from the gate fee. The village also will contribute $30,000 for fireworks and provide $28,000 in police and fire protection - as it has traditionally - but this year it will charge the Jaycees $8,000 for the services. The Jaycees, meanwhile, hope the gate fee provides enough additional revenue to eventually make the Taste self-sustaining.Carol Stream collectsIn Carol Stream, some village officials and area businesses dug into their own pockets last winter to ensure they wouldn't have to pull the plug on the popular Summer Concert Series in 2010.When the series seemed doomed at a January budget hearing to help reduce the village's $2.69 million deficit, Trustee Rick Geiser donated $500 of his own money to the cause. Other trustees jumped in to offer their own financial support.Ultimately, a fundraising drive garnered about $11,500 from private donors and local businesses, enough to pay for seven of the nine shows. Village President Frank Saverino made sure the final two shows would go on by contributing $1,450 himself. Officials estimate up to 1,400 people attended each of last year's free concerts, which were paid for by the village.Addison concertsThe audience wasn't the only group slated to lose when Addison officials announced this spring the recession ate up funding for the annual concerts in the park.Members of the Addison Community Band, a group of 55 volunteer musicians, learned they wouldn't be able to perform at the events they practice for all year."We knew we would find a way to continue with the tradition, since their families come to see them play, many seniors come and these are events that allow people to visit our village," said Annette Leiber, chairwoman of the Addison Cultural Arts Development Commission that sponsors the series.Without the roughly $6,000 they receive for the series each year from the village, arts commission members pounded the pavement seeking business sponsors. "We thought it best to get numerous sponsors for smaller amounts of money," Leiber said.The plan worked. The commission collected $2,225 from businesses and community groups, which was enough to fund four community band concerts and one show by the professional Limited Edition Big Band. That's less than the roughly 10 concerts the commission usually hosts, but an area bank will sponsor a Battle of the Bands and a show by another professional band, Paparazzi, to round out the series.Still going strongOf course there are many popular fests that remain and are getting even bigger. Itasca, for example, actually expects its Fourth of July fireworks celebration to grow this year thanks to the changes in Chicago. The Itasca display is the largest in the state and normally attracts about 50,000 people.But even with a combination of village funds and the show's traditional corporate sponsorship from Hamilton Partners, organizers still had to cut costs this year to keep admission free and parking at $20 per vehicle.Instead of bringing nationally known acts that have included groups such as Smashmouth in past years, this summer's fireworks will feature entertainment provided by the U.S. Army, including a military vehicle display, interactive exhibits, a Blackhawk helicopter landing, and performances by Joe Cantafio and the 101st Rock Division, as well as the Pat McKillen Band. Village President Jeff Pruyn said he realizes the musical lineup might not be as illustrious as in years past, but this year's event "has a great patriotic lineup that compliments the holiday."And Septemberfest?Susan Lancaster knows it will be tough to resurrect Bloomingdale's Septemberfest. She said elements such as the traditional parade may need to be sacrificed if the fest goes on this year.Businesses and other sponsors already are lining up to help and Lancaster is focusing on organizing the effort with citizen volunteers, her personal network and more. She's already written a plea for help in the Daily Herald's editorial pages and now she plans to recruit help at Bloomingdale's Concerts in the Park series, create posters to attract volunteers and unveil a website to spread the word.She says people need to act now because she fears many aren't even aware village traditions are falling away. She's also afraid people will forget why the fests make their community special in the first place."Once the village lets it go, we'll never get it back," she said. "It's such a long-standing tradition. And if it goes away one year and people survive, they think, 'Oh, we don't need that.'" bull; Residents interested in helping with the Septemberfest effort can e-mail Susan Lancaster at susan@saveseptemberfest.com.True13262000Carol Stream officials pitched in their own money to preserve the village's popular Concerts in the Park series for at least another year.Daily Herald fileTrue