Time to Cheer: 50th Friendship Festival is here

BOURBONNAIS – It’s time again for the Friendship Festival.

The annual five-day celebration kickoffs Wednesday on the grounds of The Grove at Robert Goselin Park.

This year is extra special as it is the 50th anniversary of the event held in late June.

This year’s theme is Cheers to 50 Years.

The family-friendly festival started out as the village’s celebration of its 100th anniversary in 1975.

People enjoyed it so much, they made it an annual event.

The festival has a special place for Lindy Casey, the village’s marketing and community engagement director.

“I was born and grew up in Bourbonnais and as a kid, there was no greater feeling than the arrival of the annual festival,” Casey said.

“Walking around the circle of rides back then, trampling over straw laid down so it wasn’t a swamp. Rain, shine, storms ... it didn’t matter the weather. You were there. The whole town was there. And now 50 years later, the tradition has carried on with my own children.”

Admission free

There is no admission charge to enter the festival grounds.

“We are the only event in Kankakee County that doesn’t charge admission,” Friendship Festival Chairman Bob Steinke said. “You can come here and watch a band or walk around and see. And not spend a dime. It doesn’t cost you anything to get in the door.”

Nostalgia

This year, festivalgoers will get a treat each night with tribute bands on The Grove’s main stage:

Thursday features The Anthem Band’s Styx Tribute Show, with Friday bringing Fortunate Sons’ John Fogerty Tribute Show and Fleetwood Gold’s Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show.

On Saturday, Dorothy Roberson’s Tina Turner Tribute Show will perform before the headlining Chicago Tribute Anthology’s Chicago Tribute Show.

The planning for this started two years ago, Steinke said, when they went to see Fleetwood Gold play.

“I wanted something that you can’t go next weekend and see somewhere else in town. I want something that it’s going to drive you here,” Steinke said.

Other musical acts include Travelling Radio Show and Hillbilly Rockstarz on Wednesday, and Kankakeeland’s The Silhouettes on Thursday.

Raising funds

The revenue the festival earns goes back into the community through scholarships and donations to local organizations and government agencies.

They donate between $20,000 and $25,000 annually, Steinke said.

Over the years, he said the festival has given $500,000 to different organizations.

“We give [to] the police, fire department, youth football, youth baseball. We try to help everyone,” Steinke said.

A huge group of sponsors gets involved, too.

Casey said the festival means community.

“Fifty years of the event is a testament to those original volunteers from the Centennial in 1975 and the passion and drive to continue that on for decades.

“While the location and activities may have evolved over the years, the annual tradition has not only welcomed many to our beautiful village, but has given thousands and thousands of dollars back in scholarships to local schools, sports, youth groups, music programs and individuals making a difference not only in Bourbonnais, but in Kankakee County.”

Luehrs’ Ideal Rides provides the carnival midway.

To help celebrate the festival’s 50th year, the company is offering 50 cent rides on the Ferris wheel Thursday.

Parade time

Of course, what would a festival be without a parade?

The annual children’s parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

On Sunday, June 29, the Grand Parade closes out the festival starting at 1 p.m. along a new route, beginning at Ward Field on the Olivet Nazarene University campus.

It will proceed west on University Avenue, north on South Main Street, and then west on Main Street NW (Illinois Route 102), ending at William Latham Drive.

The grand marshal for the Grand Parade - Mary Kay Beedle - was a part of the first parade in 1975 celebrating the village’s 100th birthday.

Beedle said she came to planning meetings and eventually was asked to be the event’s first princess.

Beedle has continued volunteering since that first parade and will now close out the village’s 50th celebration atop the leading float.

For more information, visit bourbonnaisfriendshipfestival.com.