Pandemic-era summer festivals continue in DeKalb County, with eye to health protocols, organizers say

While pandemic-era capacity limits remain lifted as COVID-19 cases increase around the state, local festival organizers say they’re heeding public health guidance and ready to welcome back crowds as August closes out the summer.

Cortland Summer Fest

Cortland Mayor Mark Pietrowski Jr. said he has talked with event organizers for Cortland Summer Fest, which is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, about ordering spare face masks and making sure hand sanitizer will be available for festival patrons.

Even though the event is outdoors, Pietrowski said event organizers encourage people to maintain their distance from others and to wear a mask if they would like or need to.

“And we will just continue to promote being as safe as possible,” Pietrowski said.

Pietrowski said festival planners remain “well aware” that health safety guidance, including capacity limits for events, may continue to evolve.

“We’re closely monitoring our medical community, department of health to see any further things that they would want us to do,” Pietrowski said. “Otherwise we invite people to come out and have a good time at Summer Fest and just use their common sense and take whatever safety precautions they feel they need to take.”

Cruisin’ to Genoa Car Show

Sherry Frankenbach, event organizer for the Aug. 21 Cruisin’ to Genoa car show, said show organizers are going to ask patrons “to be responsible” and continue to socially distance and for participants to park cars further apart than they normally would.

“We’re hoping the fact that we’ll be outside will help mitigate a lot of problems,” Frankenbach said.

Frankenbach said the car show will be on a stretch of road “a little longer than three blocks” and the show “will use whole street both sides.” She said the show should be able to accommodate multiple comfort levels “as well as keep people safe and healthy.”

Frankenbach said there also will be hand sanitizer available at the festival at the registration desk. She said Waste Management also will have sanitation stations by the port-a-potties.

Frankenbach said event organizers will not be handing out spare face masks for patrons.

“But people are obviously welcome to wear them,” Frankenbach said.

Frankenbach added food trucks will be at the show as well.

“We truly just hope that people will come by and have a good time,” Frankenbach said. “We keep our fingers crossed and hope for good weather.”

DeKalb Corn Fest

Lisa Angel, chairwoman for DeKalb Corn Fest set for Aug. 27 through 29 in downtown DeKalb, said one of the main changes patrons can expect this year is to the festival’s community stage.

The community stage used to be at First Street and Lincoln Highway in DeKalb and is the performance site for local groups during the festival. This year it will be located inside the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St.

“This will be a nice air-conditioned event where people can sit comfortably … and they can see the new and improved Egyptian Theatre,” Angel said. The theater recently underwent a significant expansion and now includes air conditioning inside.

Corn Fest’s main sound stage and beer garden will remain outside.

Jeanine Holcomb, marketing and communications director for the theater, said “the Egyptian continues to follow CDC guidelines and strongly recommends masks for everyone in attendance.” According to the theater’s website, “all Egyptian Theatre staff and volunteers will be wearing masks regardless of vaccination status until further notice.”

Another change will include the festival’s popular Chuck Siebrasse Corn Boil that Saturday, with the lineup on Fourth Street and Lincoln Highway, which will then twist north instead to help maintain social distancing, Angel said.

Tickets for the sound stage are also being sold online this year, Angel said, and patrons won’t have to worry about long lines or much cash handling. Online ticket sales are also meant to help organizers monitor event capacity in real time.

That way, if festival organizers end up having to limit attendance per health guidance, they have the ability to stop online ticket sales.

“That’s a great reason to buy early,” Angel said.

Angel said the thought is to make adjustments for this year’s festival so “there isn’t a lot of standing around and congregating.”

“We’re just trying to make sure we have smooth flow for everything,” Angel said.

Angel said there will be extra sanitation dispensers set up throughout the festival. She also said unvaccinated patrons will be asked to wear masks.

“We’re prepared for anything,” Angel said. “Safety is our No. 1 concern.”

COVID-19-related guidance “is all ever-changing,” Angel said. Festival planners will continue to keep an eye out for any changes that might come down from the state, she said – and it helps that the committee has been planning this year’s festival since 2019, after it was canceled in 2020.

“We have learned to pivot,” Angel said with a chuckle.

Angel also pointed to COVID-19 vaccination rates in DeKalb County lately (45.02% of DeKalb County’s population is fully vaccinated as of Thursday), Northern Illinois University students being required to get the vaccine to come back to in-person learning and, for the most part, the festival being held outdoors helping to keep things under control from a health perspective.

“It’s going to play in our favor, I think, at least in our town,” Angel said. “Yet we’re ready for anything.”

Sycamore Ribs, Rhythm and Brews Fest

The sixth annual Ribs, Rhythm and Brews Fest is headed to Sycamore on Aug, 28, and Rose Treml, executive director for the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce, said organizers intend to move forward with the event as planned prior to the pandemic.

“We of course, as we always have, will advocate safety for staff, volunteers, vendors and event attendees,” Treml said. “And as always, we will ask our vendors to have strategies to maintain healthy operations.”

Treml said event organizers will continue to keep an eye out for “complete regulatory awareness of local and state regulatory agency policies related to our door group gatherings” throughout the event planning process. The event – which will feature live music and a vast beer selection – is free for admission and will include four Rib vendors competing for DeKalb County Rib Champion.

“We believe our community is ready to put 2020 behind us and get on with our lives,” Treml said. “It’s simple – we all need to dance a little, laugh a lot, dine on some mouth-watering ribs, cool off with a cold one or two and just be with our family, our friends, our neighbors and our community.”

Sandwich Fair 2021

Brad Anderson, general manager for the Sandwich Fair scheduled for Sept. 8 through Sept. 12 this year, said as of Aug. 4 there have been “no specific COVID-19 changes to the fair.”

“Since this is an entirely outside open air facility, including the open air buildings with lots space, we are not under any COVID-specific regulation from the Health Department,” Anderson said.

As the fair draws nearer, Anderson acknowledged there may be future changes made “in this uncertain time that is occurring right now.”

“But hopefully, we will not have any regulations that limit capacity or hinder our ability to have the event,” Anderson said.

Anderson said fair organizers “are definitely not looking for publicity at this time, since we have a ways to go” since the fair begins and it’s unknown whether any COVID-19 specific regulations will be required at that time by the state. He added “articles on it are pure speculation at this point.”

“Since the 2009 H1N1 virus, the fair has had increased its hand washing and sanitizing and food vendors have always been under the health department’s oversight,” Anderson said. “Livestock also has levels of health regulation from the Illinois Department of Agriculture that have been in place for a long time. I expect the regulations and procedures that are already in place to remain and that we will have a safe and enjoyable fair.”