Attendance was strong at Montgomery Fest, held recently after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
“Overall, it was a success. We had big numbers based on sales, they were pretty big,” said Montgomery Trustee Doug Marecek.
He said there is probably a very simple reason why the crowds were so big this year.
“We think people just wanted out of the house,” he said.
Montgomery Fest was held Aug. 12 to 14 at Montgomery Park in downtown Montgomery along the Fox River.
Montgomery Public Works Director Mark Wolf agreed that attendance was big this year.
“Our crowd was probably the largest crowd ever,” he said.
Officials said that 36 participants took part in the annual fishing derby at the fest, while there were 160 cars in the car show and carnival revenue saw a 46% increase over the 2019 festival.
Trustees had been worried about sponsorships for the fest, but those were up about 32% to just over $46,000 this year.
The event this year featured a carnival, a beer tent, food trucks, a petting zoo, parade, music and a fireworks show to end the festival.
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.