Petunia Festival will consider fireworks options for 2022

DIXON – A few road bumps popped up – a bombardment by mayflies on Saturday night being the most notable – but Petunia Festival president Jennifer Bubrick said from an organizational standpoint, the 57th edition went well.

“Our attendance was perfect,” Bubrick said. “We hope for more. But we got people in. People had fun.”

About 2,000 people attended each night of the live entertainment venues on Friday and Saturday. Admission was $10 per person. Live musical acts serve to draw attendees from outside the immediate area, Bubrick said.

The festival was canceled in 2020. Most of this year’s events were scheduled for Friday through Sunday.

Bubrick pointed out that the board is responsible mainly for activities in the downtown area. Other ancillary happenings – such as Brush and Bloom, Art in the Park, and the Reagan Run – operate independently of the festival board.

“Had a few hiccups,” Bubrick said. “It happens when you haven’t done anything for a year.”

Looking ahead to 2022, there are challenges. July 4 falls on a Monday, creating an extended weekend that can tax city support services and volunteers.

Also, the board has to go back to the drawing board about the fireworks show that puts a punctuation point to the festival.

“This was the last year of our contract with this company,” Bubrick said. “If we’re going to have fireworks, we’re going to look into different options.”

The festival’s share of the 50-50 raffle, which helps pay for the fireworks, was $4,400. By itself, the raffle money is insufficient. Beer sales, admissions and sponsorship also contribute to the fireworks pool.

“We’ll look at what we can afford,” Bubrick said. “We get no funds from the city.”

Bubrick says the state’s rules requiring shows to be insured adds to provider costs. The length of the show is also a factor in cost. Sunday’s fireworks show was set at 28 minutes.

She said the volunteer board will have more information on what options are possible come September, and will likely make a decision at the end of the calendar year.

Bubrick said the Family Fun Night activities in the vicinity of the Old Lee County Courthouse “went really, really well. That’s something we can expand on next year.”

The Dixon police and fire departments provided vehicles children could examine.

“We may need to expand to a bigger venue, to give the kids that age more to do,” Bubrick said. “We need to find something for our tweens. How can we make this more for all ages?”

The contract for the carnival with North American Midway Entertainment from Farmland, Indiana, was extended another year because the 2020 show was called off.

The parade was short, but given the heat – midday temps were approaching 90 degrees – “It was the perfect length to get it in and out,” Bubrick said. “I foresee it will be better next year.”

It was the mayfly swarm that disrupted the live entertainment on Saturday.

“Just exploded everywhere,” she said. “We had to turn off the street lights and dim the stage lights. We were sweeping the flies off the stage.”

A security issue arose Sunday resulting in the arrest of a 15-year-old with a gun required closing off the Peoria Avenue bridge to pedestrian traffic. Dixon police handled the incident. But there was no interruption to the fireworks show, Bubrick said.

Overall, cooperation between the festival and city services remains strong.

“We have a really good connection,” Bubrick said.

Bubrick says the festival committee remains receptive to suggestions.

“We are looking for new ideas, things to do differently.”