When Wilmette and Winnetka area residents celebrate Independence Day – Wilmette celebrates July 3 and Winnetka on July 4 – what they experience will be presented by organizers who’ve been planning the fun for months.
That includes everything hiring fireworks companies and entertainers, making sure food vendors have water and electricity and coordinating with local police and firefighters.
Officials at the Wilmette and Winnetka park districts, who host Independence Day in their towns, pay about $107,000 in Wilmette and $80,000 in Winnetka to do so, officials said. But the price tag and their efforts are worth it, they said.
“The community really seems to like it,” Wilmette Park District employee Tom Tricoci said as he and other employees set up at Gillson Park and connected water and power lines to vendor tents.
Toby Ross, recreation supervisor at the Winnetka Park District, agreed. People prepare spots to watch Winnetka’s Independence Day parade as early as 7 a.m. July 4, three hours before it steps off, he said.
“Everyone really has a good time,” he said.
Gesturing to his office, overflowing with prize ribbons and decorations, including U.S. flags that district workers expected to hand out to celebrants, he said, “There’s a lot of red white and blue here.”
Before the holiday winds up, as many as 5,000 people were expected to gather at Duke Childs Field on July 4 for the Winnetka Park District’s Fourthfest and fireworks that kick off at 9:20 p.m. More are expected to line the streets for the parade that starts at 10 a.m. July 4 at the intersection of Elm Street and Glendale Avenue and ends at the Village Green, then stay at Village Green for a flag raising ceremony, children’s flag parade and family races, Ross said.
In Wilmette, people are expected to head to Gillson Park July 3 for an afternoon of children’s games and musical entertainment starting at 4 p.m., grab refreshments from half a dozen vendors, then turn their eyes to the sky over Lake Michigan for fireworks scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. Between 20,000 and 25,000 people would watch the fireworks from the park, surrounding beaches and the adjacent golf course, district director Steve Wilson said. At 8 a.m. July 4, the athletically minded are scheduled to return to Gillson for the park district’s annual fun run.
“Our planning starts in January,” said Kelsey Raftery, marketing manager at the Winnetka district. “By a month prior, this event is ‘All hands on deck.’”
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Ross estimated that about 75 park district employees are on duty July 4, from lakefront and camp staff to maintenance crews.
All Wilmette Park District employees work on Wilmette’s festivities, aided by hundreds of young seasonal camp counselors, and lifeguard, said Jerry Ulrich, superintendent of parks and planning.
“Our people are located around Gillson to help people,” said Katy Bradford, assistant lakefront manager.
Ulrich and Ross both said their festivities could not take place without help from their respective communities’ police, fire, and public works departments. In both communities, the municipal departments help by setting up crowd and traffic barriers, keeping traffic moving and working with fireworks companies to ensure safety, and more, they said.
“There’s a tremendous spirit of cooperation between us and the police, us and the fire department, and the public works guys,” Ulrich said.
Once the fun ends, the work doesn’t stop, he said: “We start cleaning up as soon as everyone leaves the park.”
Ross said he and his crews make sure the same can be said of Duke Childs Field after the fireworks end, adding, “We want to leave it as nice as possible for New Trier.”
Do staff at either park district get some time off to sleep after their efforts?
“Only until Thursday, when our regular programming kicks back in,” said Kathy Bingham, the Wilmette Park District’s recreation superintendent.
Information on Wilmette Independence Day activities is available at www.wilmettepark.org. Information on Winnetka’s festivities is available at www.winpark.org.
