Plainfield already is brushing off the recent snow and planning for a new event next fall that will feature bluegrass music, craft brewers and artisans

At the Dec. 1 Plainfield Village Board meeting, village trustees unanimously approved plans for the inaugural Common Ground Music & Arts Festival.

The festival is set to take place from noon to 10 p.m. Oct. 3 at Settler’s Park in downtown Plainfield and the adjacent vacant parcel to the west. Food vendors also will be part of the event.

Organizers are expecting the event to attract an estimated 2,000 people.

They plan to donate a substantial portion of proceeds to a local charity while retaining a portion to support their nonprofit organization, the Common Ground Cooperative.

“We’re trying to bring in bigger touring musicians,” Amanda Wright, one of the organizers of the event, told village trustees.

Trustees liked the idea.

“Good luck,” Trustee Richard Kiefer said in addressing Wright. “This sounds exciting.”

The plans are to make Common Ground Music & Arts Festival an annual community event.

Plainfield Police Chief Robert Miller recommended that one sergeant, three patrol officers and two paramedics from the Plainfield Fire Protection District staff the event.

Organizers requested that Village Center Drive from Lockport Street to Van Dyke Road be closed starting at 8 a.m. the day of the event.

They plan to use the Village Hall lot and seek permission from nearby businesses – most of which will be closed during the event hours – to supplement parking for the event.