One more round of summer fun at Naperville Jaycees Last Fling

The Naperville Jaycees Last Fling is a fun way to say farewell to summer over Labor Day weekend.

The free, family-friendly community festival returns on Friday to Monday, Sept. 2-5, near downtown Naperville. The Last Fling offers a variety of attractions for all ages to enjoy, including musicians, food and beverage vendors, a Family Fun area, a carnival, special events, a business expo and a parade.

Festival hours will be 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday along Jackson Avenue. For details, visit lastfling.org.

Live music

On Friday, Within 4 Days, a Naperville band known for its vocal harmonies, will open the festival at 5 p.m. with cover songs from artists like The Beatles, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, Zac Brown Band, Matchbox 20, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Darius Rucker, and more. Headliner Boy Band Night returns to the festival at 8 p.m., re-creating the music and moves of classic boy bands.

On Saturday, country rock trio Yankee Cowboy opens the festival stage at noon, followed by Motown Nation playing hits from Temptations, The Spinners, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and more at 2:30 p.m. Mixtape Junkies performs covers from bands like Level 42, The Tubes, The Fixx, and others at 5:15 p.m. Headliner Too Hype Crew re-creates the old school hip-hop experience at 8 p.m.

On Sunday, Le Grande Band performs covers music from Bieber to The Beatles at noon, followed by 90s Pop Nation playing the one-hit wonders and dance and pop hits from the '90s at 2:30 p.m. The Ron Burgundys will perform Yacht Rock from the 1960s to '80s at 5:15 p.m. Sixteen Candles, the 1980s dance party band, will take over the Jackson Avenue stage at 8 p.m.

On Monday, the rockabilly band Rick Lindy and the Wild Ones will perform at noon. Classic rock tribute band ARRA will close out the festival at 3:45 p.m.

Parade

2022 Special Olympics USA Games athletes Ryan Gronowski, Lou Pisani and Peter Silagi, who brought home the gold in flag football for Team Illinois, will be honored as grand marshals at the annual Labor Day parade Monday. The parade will step off at 10 a.m. on Mill Street near Naperville North High School and end on Porter Avenue by Naperville Central High School. You also can watch the parade live on Naperville Community Television (Channel 17 in Naperville) or streamed on www.facebook.com/NCTV17. Parade footage also will be available on NCTV's website at a later date.

Family fun

A variety of family-friendly attractions, presented by Goldfish Swim School-Chicagoland, will take place all weekend at the Riverwalk Amphitheater.

On Saturday, find out who can do the longest and most creative hopping in the "Hula Hoops Challenge" from 1:45 to 2:15 p.m., or join the "Slam Challenge-Recess!" from 1 to 2 p.m. where adults and children can pick up a sand-filled ball and slam it down on the ground as many times as they can in 30 seconds. On Sunday, from 4:30 to 5 p.m., children and adults can join in the Water Balloon Toss.

Got a sweet tooth? On Saturday, kids can join in the cotton candy eating contest from 10:30 to 11 a.m. or Freezer Pop eating contest from 12:30 to 1 p.m., or see how many cupcakes you can eat in a minute from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. Sunday.

Senior Bingo will be offered in the sponsor tent in the riverwalk parking lot from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday.

Be ready for an up-close live and interactive experience with reptiles and amphibians from around the world with Dave DiNaso's Traveling World of Reptiles from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Saturday, 2 to 3:15 p.m. Sunday, and 1 to 2:15 p.m. Sunday.

Stilt walking, juggling and balloon animal making will be just a few of the magical things you can experience from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Saturday, 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Sunday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday.

From 1-1:45 p.m. Saturday, DJ Kurt will spin top music for anyone who can shake it and DJ Chryptik will play a healthy mix of top 40, dance classics and staple hits from the 1970s to '90s from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Sunday.

On Saturday, watch McNulty Irish Dance performances from 2:30 to 3 p.m. and 3:30 to 4 p.m.; meet the Princess with Parties with Character from 3 to 4 p.m.; and see the American Martial Arts Academy from 4 to 5 p.m.

On Sunday, Amy Phillips of Green Earth Institute Conservation will be gardening with kids. Join her to play with soil, plant seeds and make gardening fun from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Then enjoy Saddle Up line dancing from 1:15 to 2 p.m. or School of Rock band performances from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

On Monday, the Capellas, under the direction of Road Show Inc.'s Axel Hageman and Cam Green, will perform from noon to 12:30 p.m. Close out a fun weekend with handprints or fun stick-on tattoos from 2 to 3 p.m. Paint, paper and temporary tattoos will be provided.

Carnival

Take advantage of Carnival Deal Days all weekend with unlimited rides during carnival hours for $30 per person, per day. Carnival hours are: 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday on Jackson Avenue, between Eagle and Ewing streets. On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., it is Special Needs Day where patrons with special needs will get exclusive, priority, no-wait seating with special wristband. All participants must have a chaperon and wristbands are for special-needs guests only.

A Carnival Mega Pass grants access to unlimited carnival rides throughout the entire weekend. Mega Passes are available for $55 inside Jewel-Osco stores at 1227 Naper Blvd., 127 E. Ogden Ave., 1759 W. Ogden Ave., or 2855 95th St. Mega Passes for $65 also are available at the manned carnival ticketing booth window.

There will be no shuttle service provided. Patrons can park in the surrounding parking garages in downtown Naperville.

The Naperville Jaycees is a nonprofit service organization of young persons dedicated to personal development through community service. Proceeds from the Last Fling are given to nonprofit organizations in the community and throughout DuPage County. Over the past two decades, the Naperville Jaycees raised and donated more than $1 million to various organizations in the Naperville community. Visit www.naperjaycees.org for more information.