Autumn Fest aim: draw folks into Carpenter Park again
Longtime Carpentersville residents can probably recall a time years back when Carpenter Park was alive and bustling, serving as the site for many different fests and events.
In recent years, though, the park -- while still expansive and beautiful -- has been host to some family picnics and perhaps a handful of joggers.
The village of Carpentersville's Park Committee is hoping to bring Carpenter Park back to life, beginning Sunday with Autumn Fest.
The committee invites everyone to the park, at the corner of Lord Avenue and Maple Street, to celebrate the village's 120th anniversary with food, games, rides and live music from 12:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Members of the Park Committee are Chairwoman Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, and Hollie Kissane, Billita Jacobsen, William Vincent, Karen Martinez, Kent Baldwin, Maria Torres and Billy Vincent. They are hoping to make Autumn Fest an annual event, and the first of many different gatherings in the park to come.
"We've been pushing to get something started," said Kissane, who is also a Kane County Board member.
"We haven't done anything with the park in ,years and we thought this is a great way to introduce our park staff to having fests in them," she said.
"We're going to be working next year on having a concert in the park at least once a month on Friday nights, and we're probably going to work with the park district on movie night. We just want to get the park going and get some events in it and bring the community back together."
The event will kick off with a parade starting at Carpentersville Middle School at noon. Kissane reports that the parade will proceed around the park and then back to CMS. Participants include the Carpentersville Police Department, the Carpentersville Fire Department, the village's streets department, the Voter Mobile from Kane County, the DC Junior Chargers Football Team, and the Meadowdale Little League, to name a few.
Recent upgrades to the stage in the park will be put to good use with two bands scheduled to play. Sound equipment is being donated by Just Press Play Productions.
Booths with food from Panda Express, the Dundee Lions Club and others will also be set up.
Carpentersville resident Barry Savage and his Savage Entertainment will provide rides and games for the children.
"I've lived here all my life practically, and we've had so many events there. We used to have Jamboree Days and we used to have soapbox derbies and parades and things for kids to do and we don't have that anymore," Kissane said.
"What we're trying to do is get the community back together and start doing these types of things again," she added. The park's been "empty and unused."
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