Glendale Heights offers vouchers for Summerfest tickets

The flap over the sale of ride tickets as rain pummeled the final day of Glendale Heights' Summerfest appears to be resolved.

Village officials said Wednesday that unused tickets bought Sunday can be exchanged for vouchers that will be good at next year's festival.

Village President Linda Jackson said she hopes the experience doesn't affect people's opinion of the festival, which has been a key celebration of summer in Glendale Heights for the past 28 years.

"We have done the best we can for the people that didn't get the opportunity to use the tickets," she said. "We will make certain that if we do have storms and are shut down (in the future) that the ticket booths are not selling tickets."

On Monday, some patrons complained that ticket booth operators assured them rides would be reopened after a heavy storm passed.

The festival was shut down completely a short time later and many of the tickets went unused.

As village and North American Midway Entertainment officials tried to come up with a solution into Tuesday evening, they had to tangle with the company's travel schedule. The carnival will next be in Freeport, a town in far northwestern Illinois. In the past, the company would usually remain in the area, giving patrons an easy way to redeem unused tickets.

"They understood our dilemma," Finance Director Bill Poling said of Midway's decision to waive its customary no-refund policy. "We explained our circumstances and sequence of events that caused the carnival's suspension."

Around 7 p.m. Sunday, sirens warned of an incoming storm. An all-clear given a bit later turned into what one attendee called "mass confusion." Ticket booth operators, thinking the all-clear meant the carnival would restart soon, continued selling tickets.

Before the rides were given the go-ahead, however, officials permanently canceled the remainder of the event.

To receive a voucher form, anyone with unused tickets may call committee member Marge Linnane at (630) 909-5330. Voucher requests will be accepted through July 30 and people must bring the unused tickets to receive a voucher.

"The situation was made whole to the best of our ability," Poling said. "It's the best that could be made with what was a difficult situation."

To receive a voucherGlendale Heights officials will exchange unused tickets from Sunday's carnival at Summerfest for vouchers that will be good for next year's festival. To receive a voucher form, contact festival committee member Marge Linnane at (630) 909-5330. Requests will be accepted through July 30 and those interested should bring their actual unused tickets. <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=393816">Summerfest patrons had tickets to ride, but they weren't there <span class="date">[07/14/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>