Lake Zurich's Rock the Block street party attendance tops 2013
Lake Zurich's Rock the Block street party over the weekend was a bigger hit than last year's inaugural event.
Village Manager Jason Slowinski said about 6,500 partygoers were in the village's downtown t from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday for the fest. That compares to an attendance of 5,000 in 2013.
Slowinski said word-of-mouth since the bash's debut last year, a mid-September date and the atmosphere created by a street party may be factors in Rock the Block's popularity. He said he expects it'll return in 2015 for a third year.
Last year, organizers were prepared for a crowd of only 750 to 1,000. With last year's crowd figure of 5,000 to work from, Slowinski said, patron-friendly tweaks were made for Saturday, such as more beer stands and the removal of tables in the middle of Main Street to allow for improved pedestrian flow.
Rock the Block featured three bands on a main stage, food trucks and local restaurants. There was no admission charge, but raffle tickets were provided to those who donated to the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, which is located at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Lake Zurich.
Next on Lake Zurich's outdoor social calendar is an inaugural craft beer festival at Paulus Park. It'll run over Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 10 and 11.
Chicago-based Special Events Management will run the beer fest. Company CEO Hank Zemola has said about 50 brewers are expected, with a goal of attracting 2,500 patrons over the two days.