Now that the pandemic seems to have eased, Naperville will truly go back to its roots this year with a small hometown festival to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Naperville Salute is a much simpler event than Ribfest, which took over the city for more than 30 years and attracted visitors and vendors from across the country.
Personally, I loved Ribfest and appreciated having it in Naperville. It’s the kind of event I would have traveled miles to attend, yet here it was in our own back yard. As a Brit, I saw it literally as a true taste of Americana. World class music acts, carnival rides and juicy, lip-smacking ribs. What’s not to love?
Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. Every year I heard complaints from locals, some who hated having the city overrun by visitors each year and others who simply missed the quieter early years.
Organized by the Exchange Club of Naperville, Ribfest has raised more than $18 million to support victims of child abuse and domestic violence. No one would dispute they’ve done great work, but the event eventually outgrew the city. Plans to move it to Romeoville were scrapped because of the pandemic so this year it is heading to the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton. Instead of taking place over the July 4 weekend, it’s been moved to Father’s Day weekend.
Until recently, there were plenty of things in the area to do over the Fourth of July. As well as Ribfest, there was the Eyes to the Skies balloon festival in Lisle. Like Ribfest, it was a sprawling event with food, beer and music. While the balloons looked pretty bobbing up and down on the ground, did anyone ever see one take off? I didn’t in all the years I’ve lived here.
Anyhow, now that the balloon has burst and the fest is no more, it’s down to Naperville Responds for Veterans to provide us with the perfect way to celebrate the holiday.
The Naperville Salute got off to a slow start last year because of the pandemic. Event Chair Michele Clemens told me that they didn’t know until the month before that it would definitely go ahead.
“We pulled it off in 45 days. It was really scary,” she said. “We wondered if we could do it. There was so much to do, dealing with multiple entities like police, fire, the city of Naperville and the park district. It was the first event coming out of the pandemic.”
Despite some teething problems, the festival on Rotary Hill in the heart of town managed to attract 7,500 people. This year they are hoping for 30,000 over four days starting July 1. If that sounds like a lot of people for what’s billed as a small hometown event, remember that these days Ribfest attracts about 150,000.
“This is a way of getting back to why we have festivals,” said Clemens, who has years of experience working on Naperville’s Last Fling as a Jaycee. “It’s not so much a block party but somewhere to gather with friends and neighbors. Rotary Hill and the Riverwalk are a natural setting; there’s not a bad seat in the house.”
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Naperville Salute is more about providing a way for people to celebrate the holiday than about raising money. However, it does give Naperville Responds a platform to tell people about the work they do.
“Critical home repairs are the bulk of our mission,” Clemens said. “Veterans are the least likely to ask for help. We have vets on our board who can relate to that. Some have younger families. Last year we provided $245,000 in home repairs.”
The group’s mission is to assistant veterans by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor to help them repair or build their homes.
“We care about the community and much of our community understands that without our military and first responders, we wouldn’t be afforded the freedoms we have,” Clemens said.
Naperville Responds President Dan Jurjovec is encouraging people to join the Salute effort.
“Anyone who wants to volunteer should go to our website,” he said. “It’s great way to offer team building and a great example for parents to bestow on their children. There are hundreds of shifts available, and you stick around for the bands.”
Jurjovec said there will be something for everybody to enjoy. On Saturday and Sunday morning, they’ll have activities for kids, including a chance to get up close and personal with some exotic animals. For adults, there will be food, drink and live music.
A fireworks display will be held at Frontier Park in south Naperville.
“There’s so much division in the world, we are truly blessed to be able to hold an event like this,” Jurjovec said. “It’s a simple recipe, which we are thrilled to be bringing back.”
The organization is keen to keep ticket prices affordable so the entrance fee $15 for anyone over age 12 and free for veterans and active members of the military.
Musical acts include rising country music star Jon Langston, who has toured with Luke Bryan, and The Prissillas, a high-energy, fun band who cover everything from Led Zeppelin to Dolly Parton.
For tickets and more information, go to https://www.napervillesalute.org/
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved to Naperville from England in 2007.