New committee ready to discuss future Lombard events

Some say this Fourth of July won't be the same without the Taste of Lombard, but there's hope for next year.

Next week, the newly formed Lombard Pride Committee will meet for the first time to begin discussing the potential for new events and festivals in the village.

"We look forward to their successful collaboration and recommendations regarding the future of Lombard's community events," the committee's chairman, Village President Keith Giagnorio, said in a statement.

The village board approved the creation of the advisory committee during a June 18 meeting.

Officials say the committee will be responsible for advising the village board on matters concerning existing and future events in town. That includes developing a request for proposals for a community festival in 2016, evaluating the proposals and submitting recommendations to the board.

Anyone is welcome to attend the committee's first meeting at 7 p.m. July 9 at village hall.

A total of 22 people applied for six resident positions and two people applied for a youth/student position.

Resident committee members are Ellen Bachner, Brittney Conway, Bob Difino, Jenelle Hardtke, Jeffrey Lenz and Melissa Schmitz. The youth position will be held by Dana Schwiewe.

Lombard Park District and the Lombard Area Chamber of Commerce also have representatives on the board, including parks Commissioner Dave Kundrot and chamber Executive Director Yvonne Invergo.

"We received an excellent response to our call for applications," Giagnorio said in a statement. "The members appointed to this committee form a diverse collection of Lombardians offering unique points of view and firsthand experience with event planning, project management, fundraising, and past Lombard events from a community perspective."

Village officials decided to suspend Taste of Lombard in January, due to what they called the "unforeseen dissolution" of the Lombard Jaycees, which sponsored the event for 32 years. The Jaycees disbanded last fall.

While there is no festival or carnival this year, fireworks are still scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Saturday in Madison Meadow Park.