Local fests offer out-of-the-ordinary fun

Nothing says Fourth of July like a fun festival, and the 'burbs are bursting like fireworks with patriotic parades, live music, tons of food and rides that whirl, swirl and twirl. But a few communities have broken the "ordinary" mold by offering quirky, creative contests and events that you won't find around every corner. Here, we honor their spirit of independence.

B-I-N-G-OH!

A drop in the stock market means you lose money, but a drop at the Westmont Park District's second annual Barnyard Bingo Game could net three lucky winners some much-needed excretionary funds.

Here's how it works: Good deed-doers (that's you!) buy "deeds" to each of 400 squares marked off in a field. Four-legged farm animals will roam the field of squares until one of them experiences an Ex-Lax moment. Whoever owns the deed to the square where the deed's been dropped is a winner indeed.

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The first plopping profiteer will get $200, the second $125 and the third $75. Proceeds go to the Westmont Historical Society for the upkeep of the historical Gregg House Museum.

Deeds to grid parcels cost $5 and may be purchased at the Westmont Park District, 55 E. Richmond St., or the Gregg House Museum, 117 S. Linden St. Call (630) 969-8080 or go to wpd4fun.org for details.

The great Barnyard Bingo Game commences at 5 p.m. today. Remember to chip in for a worthy cause.

-- Dann Gire

Chalk it up to creativity

Think about summertime as a kid and sidewalk chalk inevitably will show up on your mental shortlist of outdoor fun, along with images of hopscotch lines and smudged pictorials of robots and cloud scenes. In keeping with this line of nostalgia, Mundelein Community Days unleashes its annual Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest, which challenges budding artists to create a blacktop masterpiece for cash prizes.

Patrons are invited to watch two groups - ages 15-18 and 19-plus - transform street-side palettes with nothing more than chalk in three hours; artists will have been provided with standard, primary-color chalk. Final submissions will be judged on "creativity, imagination and subject matter," according to the contest application. The fun starts at 1 p.m. today; judging begins at 4 p.m. The monetary prizes at stake range from $10 to $100. If only sidewalk art always paid so well. The event, which is free to watch, takes place at Kracklauer Park, Seymour Avenue and Courtland Street, Mundelein. Call (847) 949- 3200 or visit the fest's Web site.

-- Lisa Balde

Floating holiday

Stop by Lincolnshire's Red White Boom! Fourth of July celebration and you might witness a historic moment in the world of sports. An all-girls group of Stevenson High School students will attempt to win the festival's annual Cardboard Boat Regatta for the third year in a row.

"They are going for a three-peat," said Mike Vecchione, president of the Lincolnshire Community Association.

Regatta contestants design boats made of cardboard, and do their best to travel several hundred yards in the lake, turn around and return to shore. But most of the cardboard creations meet a sad fate.

"Half the boats sink before they get too far," Vecchione said.

Last year, large crowds cheered as everything from a cardboard Viking ship to a Barbie boat set sail, Vecchione said.

And since the race is right next to the festival's food and other activities, "you can carry your beer with you," Vecchione chuckled.

The regatta runs from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, July 4 in Spring Lake at Spring Lake Park, 49 Oxford Drove, Lincolnshire. Full details at the Web site.

-- Laura Stewart

Which seats would you pick?

Artists and anyone with artistic relatives or friends will want to enter the "Decorate a Chair" competition, the no-red-tape contest that is part of Frontier Days in Arlington Heights.

Here's what you do: 1. Decorate a chair, any chair. 2. Bring it to an area near the tennis courts in Recreation Park between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and register. 3. Celebrate at 3:30 p.m. when the winners are announced. Prizes are downtown Arlington Heights gift cards.

Entries are divided into categories. Three are by age and the fourth is for groups.

Tip: Winning chairs will be displayed in the new village hall, so keep your seat clean and classy.

Phone (847) 368-5232 or visit vah.com, click on "learn more" under the item about Frontier Days and scroll until you find the competition. Frontier Days runs through July 6 at Recreation Park, 500 E. Miner St., Phone (847) 577-8572 or visit frontierdays.org for festival details.

-- Deborah Donovan

Ribs and makeup: a dangerous pair

For the first time this year, Maybelline and Garnier will set up shop next to the grills at Naperville's Ribfest. The two companies have teamed up to do The Great Beauty Tour, which involves a huge trailer and stage that is five times larger than the average Ribfest booth. Around the stage, they'll hand out free samples of their makeup and haircare products, provide individual consultations, and even do a few makeovers.

Beauty expert Charles Hezekiah (you've seen him on "Oprah" and other shows) will be the special guest, and he'll educate women about how to best choose and use cosmetics and skin care. Step 1? Wipe the barbecue sauce off your face. Ribfest runs through July 6 at Knoch Park, West Street at Hillside Avenue in Naperville. Log on to ribfest.net for details.

-- Jamie Sotonoff

Log on the old-fashioned way

They're lumberjacks, and they're more than OK. The All American Lumberjack Show returns to Lisle's Eyes to the Skies Festival, featuring chopping, sawing, logrolling and other displays of lumberjack skills. The shows are at 2:15, 4:15 and 6:15 p.m. daily through Sunday, followed by a demonstration of chain-saw carving, using a roaring, chawing chain saw to create figures of owls and other birds and animals. There's also a Kids' Lumberjack Sports Camp daily at 5 p.m., giving "youngsters of all ages" a chance to roll some logs - and take a spill in the water - on their own. Eyes to the Skies takes place from noon to 11 p.m. through Sunday at Community Park, 1825 Short St., Lisle. Log on to eyesontheskiesfestival.com.

-- Ted Cox

Carts for a cause

Most people attending a Fourth of July parade wouldn't think about bringing along cans of creamed corn or boxes of macaroni and cheese. But for crowds lining the route of the Glen Ellyn Fourth of July parade, forgetting those nonperishable groceries means missing out on the Shopping Cart Brigade.

Dreamed up 12 years ago by Robin Currie, former pastor of Grace Lutheran Church of Glen Ellyn, the Shopping Cart Brigade solicits donations during the parade for the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, located in the church.

The brigade consists of four to six families who decorate shopping carts donated by local grocery store McChesney and Miller Inc. They then march the carts in different drill team formations during the parade, collecting food along the way.

"Last year we filled up two pickup trucks with food," said Tom Puntel, a Villa Park resident and member of Grace Lutheran's church council who is also the unofficial leader of this year's Shopping Cart Brigade.

"The shelves of the pantry have been more sparse this year with the downturn in the economy," said Puntel. Since the pantry services around 300 families, Puntel said, "We're really trying get the word out because we're really, really strapped."

Combine your patriotism and altruism by donating to the brigade at the parade, stepping off at noon Friday, July 4, between Crescent and Park boulevards before ending at Lake Ellyn Park, located at Linden Street and Lenox Road, Glen Ellyn. Call the Glen Ellyn Park District at (630) 858-2462 or visit www.gepark.org or Grace Lutheran Church of Glen Ellyn at (630) 469-1555 for more information.

-- Scott C. Morgan

Watch the seeds!

The only thing better than eating a slice of watermelon on the Fourth of July is eating a whole bunch of slices. And the Addison Park District offers the perfect way to indulge: the Watermelon Eating Contest that's part of the district's annual Fourth of July celebration.

"The watermelon contest is really taking off," the park district's Geri Estvanik said. "It's a bit of genuine home-town fun, and people love it."

The contest is open to people of any age, but don't worry, you youngsters won't have to go head to head (or is it gut to gut?) with older, burlier contestants.

"We sort the contestants by age," Estvanik said. "We wouldn't want a 40-year-old competing against a 4-year-old."

The contest, which is free to enter, will take place at about 6:30 p.m. today at Community Park, 120 E. Oak St. It's part of a whole day of July 4 activities that begins with free admission to the Family Aquatic Center from noon to 4:30 p.m. and culminates with fireworks at dusk. Check out addisonparkdistrict.org.

-- Matt Arado