Having struggled through tough economic times during the past 18 months, Skokie restaurateur Desi Mulingbayan is gearing up for what has always been his busiest weekend of the year.
Skokie’s popular Backlot Bash three-day food and music festival will be held Aug. 27-29 after it was canceled last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mulingbayan, owner of the Village Inn Pizzeria, Sports Bar & Grill in the 8000 block of Lincoln Avenue, said his business typically triples during the three-day festival in downtown Skokie.
“We are looking forward to it,” he said. “The ‘ring’ is nice and we’re crowded for the whole weekend.”
But he also said that after 18 months of social distancing, mask wearing and taking other precautions due to COVID-19, the downtown festival’s return is about more than making money.
“It will give us a sense of normalcy,” said Mulingbayan. “It’s very important considering the year we’ve gone through. Over the year what I’ve seen is a lot of hate and a lot of crap. I would like to see everyone hugging again, having a good time enjoying themselves.”
The free festival now in its 14th year is sponsored by the Skokie Park District, the Skokie Public Library, the village of Skokie and other participating agencies including the Skokie Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Skokie Valley. It’s held rain or shine on a closed off section of Oakton Street between Lincoln and Laramie Avenues adjacent to Skokie Village Hall.
The event normally attracts as many as 20,000 people. Jon Marquardt, superintendent of facilities with the Skokie Park District, said he is expecting big crowds this year.
“People have been looking forward to this event,” he said. “There was a lot of disappointment last year when we didn’t throw it. We couldn’t do it and it was better we didn’t. But this year there’s no restrictions.”
He also echoed what Mulingbayan said about this years festival being about more than just having fun, listening to live music and enjoying local foods from the many vendors.
“It’s one of those return to normalcy events that people are sort of like ‘OK things are getting back to normal,'” he said.
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But he also said that the festival’s organizers are following CDC guidelines. There will be hand sanitation stations at the event and attendees will be “encouraged” to wear protective masks.
“It’s a better safe than sorry kind of thing,” Marquardt said. “We’ll have signage up. We’re hoping people take it upon themselves to be responsible.”
The Bash is held to promote Skokie’s downtown core while paying homage to the village’s past as a location where silent movies were made during the early 1900s, said Ann Tennes, director of marketing and communications with the village.
With its dirt roads, saloons and wooden frame buildings, Skokie resembled a prairie town and became a popular location for shooting Hollywood Westerns and gangster silent movies between 1907 and 1917, Tennes said.
There aren’t many unpaved roads in the village any more, but Tennes said that Skokie’s past as a shooting location for silent films serves as a great theme for the modern festival.
Marquardt said the event also includes a carnival midway, a 5K Run, a children’s stage, kid’s activities, classic films, an auto show, bingo, a sponsor and community resource fair, exhibits at the Skokie Heritage Museum, a Sunday pancake breakfast and farmers market, and other family friendly events.
“It brings everyone together,” he said. “It’s one of those end of the summer before school starts events for everybody.”
“With the music being free it targets every audience and everyone can participate regardless of how much money is in their pockets,” Marquardt added. “They can just come out relax and have a nice afternoon listening to music.”
More information and a schedule of events are available at backlotbash.com.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.