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With the competition and the increased price of fireworks, musical entertainment and a carnival around Independence Day, Streator volunteers are adapting their annual summer holiday festival, in an effort to maintain its quality.
Instead of hosting the summer festival the weekend before or after Independence Day, the committee now will focus on putting on a similar festival the first weekend of August, called Streator Fest.
The fireworks are scheduled Saturday, Aug. 5, at Anderson Fields Golf Course.
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A “bigger and better” carnival will set up Thursday, Aug. 3, through Sunday, Aug. 6, at Northpoint Plaza, along with four nights of music and food vendors.
Streator Fest organizer Randy Dominic said visitors can expect the same caliber of headline musical acts the city has brought in previously, such as Everclear and Eddie Montgomery. The musical lineup is expected to be announced next month.
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Organizer Terry Trenor also said the fireworks will be on par with previous festivals, with about a 20-minute show at a roughly $40,000 clip, put on by the same company J&M Display.
Visitors, however, should see the biggest difference in the quality of the carnival, organizers said. Fantasy Amusements, of Arlington Heights, which provides the rides for the McLean County and Kane County fairs will provide Streator’s carnival.
“This is going to be the biggest midway in the area,” Dominic said. “We’ve been disappointed, and we’ve heard from residents who were disappointed, in the carnival in previous years. We’ve been wanting to bring this carnival company to Streator for years and by moving the festival’s dates, they had an opening that lined up to come here.”
Trenor said the pandemic put some fireworks companies out of business and led others to raise their prices. He said it became increasingly difficult to put on the same kind of display during the Independence Day holiday, because there’s competition from other communities for the limited amount of companies. Not only that but the companies also were reporting supply shortages.
Moving the festival to August allowed the festival committee to get more bang for its buck.
The committee also was able to schedule the fireworks on a Saturday night again. Since the fireworks were moved to Anderson Fields in 2021, they have been on a Sunday night.
“One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard was when the fireworks moved to a Sunday, some people have to work the next day,” Trenor said. “Now we’re back on Saturday and the fireworks will go off right before the headliner (musical act) at Northpoint.”
Dominic said Streator Fest still will keep the Run for Glory 5k, the parade and some activities in City Park on July 1-2. The parade is scheduled downtown Sunday, July 2.
Organizers acknowledged some residents will be disappointed with the change, but they are asking them to be open minded about the changes and understand it is about maintaining a high quality festival.
“We want this festival to be something we’re proud of and the community is proud of,” said organizer Joe Richard. “If we were unable to put on a festival of the same quality, that wasn’t going to sit right with us.”
The committee said it spent about $250,000 for last year’s festival, noting the majority of the money is generated by sponsors and fundraisers.
“We thank the community and our sponsors for its support over the years,” Richard said.
Upcoming fundraisers include:
6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 1: Sip and Paint fundraiser, Moose Lodge, 2007 Skelgas Road
Noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 6: Dairy Queen fundraiser, Dairy Queen, 2320 N. Bloomington St. Supporters must tell their cashier they want their purchase to go to Streator Fest and 20% of the sale will be donated to the festival.
Friday, March 24: Fish fry, Knights of Columbus, 806 Oakley Ave.
4 to 7 p.m.: Sunday, April 30: Tenderloin dinner, Moose Lodge, 2007 Skelgas Road
Saturday, May 6: Golf outing at Eastwood, 2000 N. Eastwood Ave.
Sunday, May 21: Breakfast, Knights of Columbus, 806 Oakley Ave.
Thursday, June 15: Quarter auction, Knights of Columbus, 806 Oakley Ave.