DarienFest has been cut to one day this year while organizers determine the future of the event.
The decision to reduce the festival from three days down to one was made after Darien officials said they would require compensation.
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“We were approached by the city and told that they would no longer provide police protection, barricades and public works to execute the festival,” said Clare Bongiovanni, president/CEO of the Darien Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the event. “We knew without the city we could not execute a three-day festival.”
Bongiovanni said returning the event to a three-day run will take some figuring.
“We want to get back to three days. We just have to figure how to do that financially,” she said.
City Administrator Bryon Vana said the municipality made the decision about requiring reimbursement for city services during budget discussions this winter.
“The City Council looked at all expenses and contributions to DarienFest during those meetings — the amount for barricades and police services — and did cut out DarienFest expenses,” Vana said.
He said the city is wholeheartedly behind the event and willing to provide whatever services are needed for the festival; it just is requiring reimbursement for those services.
The bill for city services during DarienFest has run between $15,000 and $20,000 annually, Vana said. That money, which comes out of the city’s general operations fund, will be used for other items, he said.
“This was a financial decision. It has nothing to do with the fest,” Vana said. “The city recognized that (the chamber is) a private entity. They are not like a service club.”
Vana said the city continues to have a good relationship with the chamber, with the pro-business entity having its office in City Hall.
Bongiovanni said reducing the event to one day, Sept. 10, makes it much more weather- and public relations-dependent.
“It is extremely stressful. It is a big risk we are taking,” she said. “Because it is different this year, we are trying to let everyone know what the changes are. We are praying for beautiful weather.”
Not everything, however, has been reduced to one day for the festival in Darien Community Park. The carnival and sale of the Veterans of Foreign Wars 50/50 raffle tickets will both be three days, Sept. 9 to 11.
The festival set-up will also be different this year, Bongiovanni said, noting that activities will be more confined to one end of Community Park.
“We’ll see how that goes. We are doing all the same things, but we eliminated “Darien’s Got Talent” and “Darien Idol.”
The chamber president said expenses, which would be more than $100,000 for the three-day event, are at $21,000 so far, “but they keep creeping up every day.”
Bongiovanni said she has gotten mixed reviews from chamber members about the DarienFest Business Expo being reduced to one day.
“The Business Expo is a strong component of DarienFest,” she said. “Some love the three days. Some newer members love the one day, saying they couldn’t staff three days.”
Bongiovanni said with the festival hitting its 30th anniversary next year, the chamber wants the event to remain a vibrant part of the community.
“We are trying to keep the tradition going,” Bongiovanni said. “There is still a lot not figured out regarding the festival’s future.”
For a rundown of festival events and the entertainment schedule, go to www.darienchamber.com
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and click on DarienFest under the Events section.Kevin Beese is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.