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Gurnee launches beer fest to help struggling American Legion

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik hopes her town's reputation as a tourist destination will help draw beer aficionados to a new festival benefiting the local American Legion post.

Legions of Craft Beer is set for 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, under a tent in the east parking lot of Gurnee Mills, just south of Bass Pro Shops. The festival will feature craft beers from more than 30 breweries, food trucks offering various cuisines, and performances from Chicago-area bands.

Proceeds mostly will go to Gurnee American Legion Post 771, which has been in the village for 80 years. Some will be directed to Honor Flight Lake County, officials said.

Kovarik said the village's tourist attractions should help bring visitors to Legions of Craft Beer. The village typically receives 26 million annual visitors.

"I think an advantage will be (Great America's) Fright Fest gets started right around that time," Kovarik said. "Then come enjoy the craft beer fest. You can make a whole weekend of it."

Legions of Craft Beer came about after the Gurnee village board refused to allow video gambling at bars, restaurants or fraternal organizations, including the American Legion.

Citing the group's struggling finances, Post 771 strategic planning chairman James Huisel made an unsuccessful pitch to get the village board to reverse course. He said the post was down to its last $65,000 and needed the extra revenue from gambling machines to pay escalating real estate taxes and keep up with building maintenance.

Huisel was following the lead of many other suburban veterans organizations that started offering video gambling.

Vowing to do something to help the American Legion stay afloat in the wake of the video gambling denial, village officials came up with the craft beer festival. Kovarik said she believes it'll provide a predictable income stream each year.

Gurnee Economic Development Director Ellen Dean, who has been organizing the event, said about 35 craft breweries will be represented, along with live music and food trucks on the premises adding to the fun.

Some vendors are providing in-kind donations knowing all of the proceeds are going to help the Gurnee American Legion and Lake County Honor Flight, which flies veterans to visit memorials in Washington, D.C.

"Our Legion here in Gurnee gives away so much money through scholarships," Dean said. "It's time for us to give back to them. Some of that money they were giving away, they could have been putting a new roof on - and they didn't. They gave it away."

Although Lake Zurich also has a craft beer festival this coming weekend, Dean doesn't believe the two villages will be competing for customers. Lake Zurich's beer bash will be Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3, at Paulus Park.

"I think there's enough room for everybody," Dean said.

Gurnee Mills and the village's Timothy O'Toole's Pub have assisted in organizing the inaugural Legions of Craft Beer. Gurnee officials credited Timothy O'Toole's industry connections in landing desirable craft breweries such as Three Floyds, Two Brothers Brewing Co., Revolution Brewing and Founders Brewing Co.

General admission tickets will be $50, and $10 for designated drivers. A "stilettos and stout" ticket for those who want to mix in some Gurnee Mills shopping will be $35, and all are available at gurneelegionsofbeer.com.

"We are delighted to be a part of such an exciting event for the village and Lake County veterans' organizations," said Gurnee Mills General Manager Randy Ebertowski.

There will be a shuttle service from downtown Libertyville's Metra station to encourage regional visitors, Kovarik said. Free parking will be available throughout Gurnee Mills.

Kovarik said she hopes the event raises $40,000. Under such a scenario, the American Legion would receive $30,000 and Honor Flight $10,000.

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  Gurnee Economic Development Director Ellen Dean has been busy helping to organize the inaugural Legions of Craft Beer festival. Proceeds from the event Saturday mostly will benefit the village's American Legion post. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
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