Can COVID vaccinations save the southwest Illinois fair and festival season?
The metro-east is gearing up for a summer festival season that may not be totally normal, but at least it’s expected to happen.
The key word being “expected.”
Organizers know that everything is somewhat tentative during the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the vast majority of fairs, festivals, homecomings, parades and concerts last year.
“We’re planning to have it as much as the state will let us have it,” Pat McMahan said of the Mascoutah Homecoming. He’s treasurer for the Mascoutah Improvement Association, which sponsors the annual event.
McMahan said public-health officials will have a clearer picture of the future in late May, when everyone who wants to be vaccinated for COVID-19 will likely be vaccinated.
That will give homecoming organizers another two months to plan. The event is scheduled for Aug. 6-8 in Scheve Park.
“We haven’t even considered whether we would put up plastic barricades in front of food booths and that kind of thing,” McMahan said. “It’s just too early to say. We don’t want to get locked into anything.”
Arrangements are further along for the Route 66 Festival, which is set for June 12 at Edwardsville City Park.
The family-oriented festival won’t include its popular Kids Zone with bounce houses and a climbing wall. Instead, children will play bingo and work on art projects that involve less togetherness.
Other activities include live music, a classic-car cruse and more vendor booths than usual. Tables and chairs will be spread out for social distancing.
“We’ll ask people to wear masks if they’re just walking around, but not when they’re eating, of course,” said Trina Vetter, special events coordinator for the city of Edwardsville.
Typically, the summer festival season kicks off with Memorial Day parades and other veteran-themed events. But those plans are still in limbo for many cities.
Belleville’s parade has received preliminary approval from the City Council, according to City Clerk Jennifer Gain Meyer. The administration hasn’t made a final decision on whether to go through with it on May 31.
“You still have to consider what the mitigations are (to keep staff and residents safe),” Meyer said Friday. “At this point, there are still crowd limits.”
Here are 2021 updates on some of the larger outdoor summer events in the metro-east:
Belleville
Belleville’s downtown festival season won’t get going until fall this year.
Art on the Square was moved from May 14-16 to Oct. 22-24. The nationally ranked art show brings artists from all over the country to show and sell their work.
“We are disappointed to make this announcement,” organizers said in a Jan. 19 statement about the date change. “But considering everything that is occurring with COVID-19, we feel this decision is necessary.”
Other organizations have firmed up dates for the Belleville Oktoberfest on Sept. 17-18, Metro East Pride Fest on Oct. 2 and Belleville Chili Cook-off on Oct. 8-9, according to Peggy Schifferdecker, membership and event manager for the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber sponsors the Chili Cook-off.
“We’re moving ahead with the anticipation that we will get to have it,” Schifferdecker said. “It’s not in concrete or set in stone, just because we have to follow the state of Illinois rules.”
Collinsville
The International Horseradish Festival is scheduled for June 4-5 in downtown Collinsville, although plans are still evolving, according to Michelle Stoeppler, executive director of the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce.
The event won’t include the traditional children’s area, but kids can still have fun with a root toss, coloring contest and other activities. There also will be food vendors and live music.
Italian Fest will take place Sept. 16-17 in downtown Collinsville. Organizers expect it to be relatively normal, albeit with extra cleaning and sanitation measures.
“We will follow all the COVID guidelines — city, state and national — at any event we hold,” Stoeppler said.
Edwardsville
The city of Edwardsville is bringing back all its annual outdoor programs this summer.
That includes the Route 66 Festival on June 12, as well as Concerts in the Park, Movies in the Park, Art in the Park, Edwardsville Municipal Band concerts, Edwardsville Community Symphony concerts and one night of Shakespeare in the Park.
Fairview Heights
The Midwest Salute to the Arts is planned for Aug. 27-29 at Moody Park in Fairview Heights.
Director Sharon Kassing said she’s looking forward to being on the newly renovated grounds this year after trying a virtual art show last year. Everything will be spread out as much as possible.
“We’ll be following all the COVID guidelines,” Kassing said.
Glen Carbon
The village of Glen Carbon has canceled the Glen Carbon Homecoming on Father’s Day weekend this year.
“During these uncertain times, ensuring the health and safety of all is our top priority,” according to a notice on the village’s website.
Highland
The Highland Jaycees hope to celebrate the city’s Swiss heritage with their annual Highland Schweizerfest June 11-13 on the Highland Square. The event generally includes carnival rides, live music and other entertainment, parades and food booths.
Highland City Council will consider the organization’s permit application on April 5, according to Deputy City Clerk Megan Von Hatten.
“I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen because it will be the first big event to go before the council since COVID,” she said.
The council has approved permits for Rusty Rodz Car Cruise on the Square, which includes monthly car shows from May through October; and races at Highland Speedway.
The Highland Arts Council is advertising its annual Art in the Park event for Oct. 8-10 at Lindendale Park.
“We will take precautions to keep you all safe so that you can enjoy the creations shared by our artists,” according to its website.
St. Paul Catholic Church in Highland has canceled Kirchenfest for the second year in a row.
The parish was supposed to celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary in 2020, according to Executive Manager Dineen Czar. Now “Kirchenfest 50” will take place in 2022.
“We want to make sure it’s a big success and we can do it the way we want to do it with everything open,” Czar said. “We don’t want to scale it down. We want it to be huge.”
Madison County Fair
The Madison County Fair is a go this year, according to its website. Dates are July 27 to Aug. 1.
The website doesn’t provide details at this point, other than a summary of regular activities, including livestock shows, tractor pulls, demolition derbies, live music, 4-H exhibits and stock-car races.
Monroe County Fair
The Monroe County Fair will be held July 18-25, according to its website.
No specific activities are listed, except there’s a notice that the fair committee is seeking girls to sign up for the Miss and Little Miss Monroe County Fair queen contests.
“Mask wearing is required,” it states.
This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
