Last Fling Parade, races provide farewell to summer

Summer and Naperville's Last Fling festival will get a fitting send-off Monday at the city's annual Labor Day parade.

The parade, which steps off at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 5, always draws a crowd, says Karen Coleman, executive director of Last Fling. If the weather is good, she says, as many as 50,000 people will line the parade route.

"It's the biggest Labor Day parade in Illinois," she said.

It's not unusual, Coleman said, for some folks to start staking out their parade route spot around 4 or 5 a.m.

Paul DeKruiss, a volunteer with the Naperville Jaycees who is overseeing the parade, says it's become a tradition in Naperville.

This year's parade will highlight Naperville Park District's 50th anniversary.

The procession also will feature a variety of nonprofit groups, bands, students and even some businesses.

In addition to the parade, the Jaycees will play host to a pair of races Monday morning.

The Fling Mile will begin at 8:45 a.m. near the corner of Douglas and Mill Street and end at Porter Avenue near Naperville Central High School. The race is chip timed and there will be overall and age category winners.

The Rooster 5K, meanwhile, will begin at 9 a.m. at Porter Avenue near Naperville Central High School and will be an out and back course, following the Labor Day Parade Route through downtown. The Rooster 5K also is chip timed and overall and age category winners will be announced after the race.

Runners for both races have the option to create a personal fundraising page to help create awareness and raise money for the Naperville Jaycees.