Lombard fest will celebrate BBQ, blues

Barbeque and blues will be the highlights of a new festival coming this summer to downtown Lombard.

Lombard Town Centre is in the beginning stages of planning the one-day LomBar-B-Que and Blues Festival on Aug. 8 along Parkside Avenue, near Lilacia Park.

"It's a great way to bring the community together and just spend a day outside enjoying great American barbecue," event co-chair Greg Bane said.

Lombard Town Centre hired Bane and another consultant, Tom Koprowski, to serve as co-chairmen of the event. The two founded the Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ, which Bane said will continue this year, but without them at the helm.

Sarah Richardt, executive director of Lombard Town Centre, said she hopes the fest draws large crowds. "We have a great location and it really fits with the Lombard demographic," she said.

The village board approved a $7,500 grant for the event Thursday to help with startup costs. The event will serve as a fundraiser for Lombard Town Centre, which has been encouraged to start seeking new sources of revenue.

"We have great plans for downtown and all of those things cost money," Richardt said. "The village graciously helps us, but we want to do more. We can't keep going back to the village and saying, 'Hey, give us more money.'"

Richardt said having the event near the train station will draw "far-reaching crowds." It also will compliment Cruise Nights, which will be held on the same day, north of the tracks.

The fest hours likely will be from around 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., which will allow attendees to stop in for lunch or dinner.

Some competition categories organizers are considering include best pork ribs, best sauce and best wings. There is also a proposal to create a small cooking competition for kids.

Food prepared by the competitors will not be available to the public, due to health department regulations, but it will be critiqued by a panel of judges. Prizes likely will include custom-made trophies and, of course, bragging rights.

While the competitors' food can't be sampled, there will be food options available from local restaurants and food trucks. Guests will have a chance to sample and judge the sauces used by the competitors.

The event will be focused on amateurs, which gives attendees a chance to walk through the food tents and check things out, Bane said.

In Glen Ellyn, the event grew so much that it was attracting about 60 vendors from as far away as Wisconsin, Indiana and southern Illinois.

Bane isn't sure if competitors will come that far for the first year of LomBar-B-Que, but he hopes to have about 30 teams sign up.

Aside from the food, there will be live blues music all day from local bands, beer and possibly wine sales, a bean bag tournament and vendors.

A Facebook page called "LomBar-B-Que & Blues Fest" has been launched to provide more details about the event in the coming months.