Elim Christian Services’ Dutch Festival has gone digital — with a curbside pickup element.
While grand plans for an in-person, early fall gathering to denote the fest’s 25th year in 2020 were dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers were not about to let the milestone go unmarked. So the annual fundraiser for the Crestwood-based institution, which serves children and adults with disabilities across south suburban campuses, including one in Orland Park, has moved online.
“In the winter and spring, we were planning a big 25-year celebration, but COVID changed things,” said Laura Schnyders, Elim’s advancement administrative assistant.
The No Fest Dutch Fest launched July 13 and runs through Aug. 15. People can visit secure.qgiv.com/event/2020dutchfest and browse a selection of groceries, flowers, gourmet choices and baked goods, including Dutch Fest’s ever-popular oliebollen.
“We tried to capture a little bit from every area of Dutch Fest,” Schnyders said. “We couldn’t do everything.”
All pre-orders placed before the deadline will be available during a curbside pickup event to be held Saturday, Sept. 26. Proceeds from the sales as well as donations collected on the page are to benefit roughly 500 individuals served by the organization.
In the first two days of the online fest opening sales, Schnyders said 65 people shopped online, with more than 200 making purchases by the end of the first week.
“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people,” she said. “A lot of people are just thrilled that it’s not canceled entirely.”
Schnyders said organizers initially held onto hope that by late September the festival might be able to go on as planned. But in May, they were hit with the realization that even if state officials allowed for such an event, it would not be the 25th anniversary bash Elim envisioned, and possibly not in the best interest of guests, staff and roughly 300 volunteers.
“I think we had a pretty good idea in May that there was going to be a lot of uncertainty,” Schnyders said.
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The annual Dutch Fest, held at the main Crestwood campus, typically brings in $180,000 to $200,000 for the school, between sponsorships and sales of baked goods, flowers, produce, wooden clogs, crafts and hot food offerings. It helps to fund technology and equipment for the campuses, according to Schnyders.
“The impact is huge,” she said.
Simply letting it slip by the wayside along Central Avenue did not seem feasible. Elim had the opportunity to learn from an annual run/walk — which also was anticipated to be a milestone at No. 10 in 2020 — it adapted in May to become the Eagles’ Wings Virtual 5K.
During those discussions, someone threw out the idea of online pre-orders for some of the items Dutch Fest typically offers.
“That stuck,” Schnyders said.
No other events are planned to make up for a potential loss of funding from the physical incarnation of Dutch Fest in 2020. The hope is that with fewer expenses associated with doing a digital fest, as well as some generous sponsors who are still supporting the event, No Fest will still provide a big boost, Schnyders said.
“Our hope is to get as close to what we would normally raise as possible,” she said.
Since the start of the pandemic, Elim has gone to strictly remote learning. And while it has proven a difficult transition, it has worked up to this point, Schnyders said.
“The staff has been phenomenal in doing things remotely,” she said.
But Schnyders said the change has definitely been hard on some families who want to return to campus. Elim is anticipating a partial reopening at 25% capacity on Aug. 1, she said, though staff is posting updates on an ever-changing situation at elimcs.org/information-covid-19.
Dutch Fest organizers hope to see attendees in person again in 2021, with next year’s event slated for Sept. 25. Schnyders said the plan is to go big and make it feel like a belated 25-year celebration.
Anyone with questions about this year’s fest or interested in a vitual tour to learn more about Elim can contact Schnyders at 708-291-0417 or [email protected].
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.