Homecoming parade will be part of Heritage Fest
Never let it be said that Heritage Fest never had a parade.
On Sunday of the three-day festival, which starts Friday, Sept. 18, the Dundee-Crown High School homecoming parade will march through East and West Dundee, along Route 72.
Students will begin the parade at 2 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran School and walk west to Cal Grafelman Park, where many of the attractions of Heritage fest will be.
This will mark the first time, the annual festival has included a parade, said Kim Tibbetts, a West Dundee employee.
"It's nice it worked out the parade can be part of the festival," she said. "There will be a lot of people in the downtown area along the road to watch the parade."
Many of them will be attending the classic car show, the chili cook-off, the Baggo tournament, and the antique fair also scheduled for that day in the downtown area and in the park.
If the weather is nice, more than 100 spectators, instead of the traditional handful, will watch the homecoming parade for the Carpentersville-based high school.
The same events will be held Saturday.
Heritage Fest, which is sponsored by West Dundee, will begin at 6 p.m. Friday with musical entertainment and food sales. A fireworks display will begin at 8 p.m. over the Fox River.
Hundreds of volunteers, sponsors, and members of local civic groups help village trustees plan and put on the festival.
The Rotary Club of Dundee Township will help with the chili cook-off and the members of the local Lions Club cook and serve the food for Sunday's community breakfast.
"Without the help of the groups or volunteers, we would never be able to hold this festival in its current form," said West Dundee Village Manager Joe Cavallaro has.
For months, planners work with residents to line up entertainment, schedule fireworks and food vendors and map out where the crafts booths will be placed. Their hard work and Mother Nature's cooperation with nice weather help make Heritage Fest one of the nicest - and last - summer festivals for the northern Fox Valley, Cavallaro said.
Just in case Mother Nature doesn't keep her end of the bargain, village officials have purchased weather insurance this year to make sure last year's rainy washout isn't repeated. The festival cost the village $55,000 to put on.
The goal of it is not to make a profit, but to provide residents with entertainment, the manager said. If it rains a couple of inches Friday or Saturday, the insurance policy will pay the village $20,000 for each night.
If it rains Sunday, the parade and festival will continue without insurance.