Burgoo time in Utica: ‘People are just ready for this’

You want sunshine, crafts, street food and crisp autumn air? Then this is your weekend.

The Burgoo Festival is back and organizers expect the fun and crowds we all enjoyed before anybody heard of COVID-19. The two-day festival begins Saturday in downtown Utica and there’s no worry about social distancing or masks.

“I am just elated,” said Susan Thornton, president of the board of directors for the La Salle County Historical Society, which hosts the event. “I think people are so ready to get back to normalcy. Our numbers are just going to be great.

“People are just ready for this.”

Mother Nature might cooperate for a change. The Burgoo Festival is notorious for drawing inclement weather — past festivals have been marred with rain, frost or unseasonable heat — but Sunday’s forecast calls for 66 degrees under clear skies.

Vendors are as eager for Sunday as anyone who enjoys the outdoor shopping, live entertainment and, of course, the pioneer stew for which the festival is named — and which is expected to go fast. Cool temps mean warming bowls of burgoo could sell out by noon Sunday or earlier.

Museum director Amanda Carter said only a few vendor slots are open for Sunday, as most vendors want two-day slots to capitalize on Saturday attendance, which had more than doubled from before health concerns forced the cancellation of the 2020 festival.

While the society welcomed the festival’s undisclosed receipts — publicly-available tax filings from the 2021 event will be released next year — Carter acknowledged that the society could use a strong festival to alleviate the financial hit from the pandemic.

“We were lucky to get some grants in 2020, but nowhere near what we’d have gotten from the Burgoo,” Carter said. “Last year was a little down, but we definitely needed it and we’re hoping for a big festival this year to offset the past couple of years.”

Thornton agreed a big festival this weekend would go a long way toward recouping from a couple of difficult years.

“I wouldn’t say we lost money, but we didn’t make money last year,” Thornton said. “What we make at Burgoo keeps our doors open. It’s very important that we do well. It was a little tight last year, but we’re getting through it and it’s going to be good this year.”

Motorists are advised to exercise caution entering Utica by U.S. 6 and Route 178, where a roundabout is being installed. Once in town, motorists should be prepared for sudden stops, stay alert for police directing traffic, and to be mindful of parking restrictions. Violators will be ticketed and towed.