Glen Ellyn Festival of the Arts to spotlight art, music

GLEN ELLYN – A variety of art mediums along with music will be featured at the 48th annual Glen Ellyn Festival of the Arts.

The free festival, presented by the Glen Ellyn Lions Club, will take place Aug. 26 and 27 at Lake Ellyn Park, 645 Lenox Road. The festival also will feature food and a beer garden.

In case of rain, art will be moved into the Lake Ellyn Boathouse. There is no rain date for the event.

Last year, the festival returned to Lake Ellyn Park following the completion of the Lake Ellyn Boathouse restoration project. Attendance has fluctuated over the years, depending on the weather.

"We generally see 4,000 to 5,000 people for the weekend if both days the weather cooperates," festival chairman Randy Poole said. "It's been a few years since we've had some great weather, so hopefully we have great weather on both days [this year]."

The free festival will feature a juried art show, along with two days of musical entertainment, including Anima – Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, which will perform from 10 to 11 a.m. Aug. 26. A full schedule is available by going to the festival's Facebook page at facebook.com/GlenEllynFestivalOfTheArts.

The Glen Ellyn Jaycees started the event, but the Glen Ellyn Lions Club took it over in 2004. All net proceeds generated from the Festival of the Arts are donated back to the community through the Glen Ellyn Lions Foundation Inc., which helps to provide eye exams, glasses and hearing aids for local school children and the elderly and supports other local charitable organizations, as well as the Illinois Lions Foundation and the International Lions Foundation.

"It's our biggest fundraiser of the year," Poole said.

Last year, the festival generated about $11,500 for the Glen Ellyn Lions Foundation, he said.

Between 75 and 80 artists from all over the country are expected to participate in the Glen Ellyn Festival of the Arts, said Rachel Wincenciak, who is the artist liaison for the festival. She said this year's festival will feature both new and returning artists.

"We have our Glen Ellyn people who always come, which is nice," Wincenciak said. "But there's definitely a good mix. There's not just people from Illinois, but from a lot of different states as well."

Several mediums will be represented at the festival, including oil and acrylics, glass, photography and pottery, she said.

With the Glenbard West High School football team scheduled to play at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at home against Maine South High School, those attending the festival are urged to park on the streets west of Lake Ellyn Park. There also will be a shuttle bus running between the festival and the Metra commuter lots in downtown Glen Ellyn, Wincenciak said.

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How to help

Volunteers are still needed to help run the event. To sign up, go to the festival's Facebook page at facebook.com/GlenEllynFestivalOfTheArts.