RotaryFest returns to Elk Grove Village Wednesday
Updated to reflect the Northwest Special Recreation Association and the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association should be contacted by those interested in attending during RotaryFest's special needs time.
RotaryFest, the first big festival of summer in the Northwest suburbs, opens Wednesday, June 15, and runs through Sunday, June 19, at Lions Park in Elk Grove Village.
It features festival bands, a carnival, food, a car show, fireworks and the Hometown Parade, which will celebrate the village's 60th anniversary.
Festival hours are 6-11 p.m. the first two days, 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday and 2-10 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free and free parking is available in three lots at Elk Grove High School and in church lots at Queen of Rosary and Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit. Festival information is at www.elkgroverotaryfest.com.
"We give away every dollar we make," said fest Chairman Bill Marston of Elk Grove Rotary, who works year-round making sure the event comes off. The event, the group's major fundraiser, pays for scholarships and good works locally and internationally, he said.
The event includes a time when it's only open to people with special needs. Attendance is controlled by the Northwest Special Recreation Association and the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association, which should be contacted by those interested in attending.
The car show is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday on the grounds of Elk Grove High School.
The Hometown Parade is at 5 p.m. Saturday from Tonne Road down Elk Grove Boulevard to RotaryFest, 150 Lions Drive. In honor of the village's anniversary, couples married in 1956 will act as grand marshals and the theme of the parade will be "Celebrating Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow."
Fireworks will be between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday.
The carnival is run by Fantasy Amusement Co., which is offering unlimited ride tickets at a much lower price of $18 in advance of the event online or for $25 on-site for every day except Friday.
In a change designed to keep the grass on the festival grounds in better condition for the village's 60th anniversary events later in the summer, all equipment and stage areas are on parking lots, with people able to picnic on the grass, which Marston hopes will give it a Ravinia-like feel.
The music tent will be like a band shell, facing the grass, he said.
Rain is the bane of Marston's life, and last year's festival was preceded by a week of rain and had rain almost every night, he said. "We had a mud fest."
That hurt profits, but the Rotary rolls over some of the funds, so that it was able to continue its charitable works and still have money to put on this year's fest, he said.
"We plan for a rainy day."