Nightmare on Chicago Street is expanding to two days, but the End of Summer Bash is ending as Elgin’s Cultural Arts and Special Events departments make some changes for next year’s festival season.
“Nightmare has continued to grow, but we all know it can’t essentially grow outside the footprint that it’s in,” said Amanda Harris, director of Cultural Arts and Special Events, during the city’s Nov. 12 budget meeting.
But it can be expanded to Friday night.
The popular, apocalyptic, zombie-themed Halloween festival is held downtown and has drawn crowds of up to 15,000. Last year, the festival sold out, Harris said. This year, it came close to selling out, she said. Harris didn’t provide any specific attendance figures this year.
Plans are in the works to develop a Friday night concert on the eve of Nightmare. There would be one stage on E. Chicago Street located near Riverside Drive.
“The major expense is the artistry. The focus is live music. We want to bring in a name and focus on the music, where Nightmare is the immersive experience,” Harris said.
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The production costs are low because everything will already be in place for Nightmare, Harris said. Staff estimated 5,000 people would attend. Tickets would be between $50 and $75. The concert would generate $300,000, she said.
A benefit of expanding to two days is that the city will be able to apply for a state tourism grant for Nightmare, Harris said.
“I think we’ve found ourselves in a good groove, and we are ready to take this next step into a two-day event,” Harris said.
While Nightmare is expanding, End of Summer Bash is ending.
Harris said the plan is to invest funds used for the August festival into two larger ones that draw thousands of people to the city, the Fourth of July celebration and Fiesta de Elgin, along with smaller events like concerts and movies in the park.
Elgin is “turning up the volume” on concerts and movies in the park by having more activities, Harris said. Attendance at those events is going through the roof, a trend seen across the state and around the country, she said.
Elgin is putting money intentionally into smaller pieces of programming that are working very well instead of having a big program that brings in a few thousand people, Harris said.
Councilwoman Tish Powell has advocated for years to have more festivals at the aptly named Festival Park, where End of Summer and Fiesta de Elgin are held.
“If I’m hearing you right, it seems like we are going backwards,” Powell asked Harris.
But Harris said there are plenty of events the city is co-sponsoring scheduled at Festival Park. Juneteenth, the Elgin Michelada Festival, and Love on the Lawn are a few co-sponsored events.
“We are really only talking about one day we are giving up,” Harris said. “And I have no doubt it will be snapped up,” she said.
Another event the city is planning, with community organizations, is the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. The celebration is tied with a nationwide movement on the Fourth of July, Harris said.
Councilwoman Diana Alfaro said the city should be conscious of how some people may feel excluded from the anniversary, given the current climate.
“It’s something that has been brought up multiple times,” Harris said. Organizers will examine how art and culture can be utilized to create something where everyone feels included, she said.
The Cultural Arts and Special Events department’s budget includes the renovation of the Hemmens Cultural Center lobby. Elgin spent $14.4 million in the last few years expanding and renovating the iconic center, which reopened earlier this year.
The latest renovations involve replacing the aging carpet, repainting the lobby walls and steel beams, adding a built-in bar, and a new technology booth. The budget is $630,000, and the city will use Central Area Tax Increment Financing District funds.
Also in next year’s budget is purchasing a replica of Santa’s workshop, which will cost $20,000.
Elgin revamped its tree lighting ceremony last year with a live tree donated by a local family. The ceremony drew a bigger audience than in the past, Harris said. Her department included a tiny village for children to enjoy.
This year, Harris said the village will be expanded. For next year, Santa’s workshop would be added to the mix.