Canceled Due to Flooding: Algonquin Founders' Days Festival July 27

ALGONQUIN, IL -- Algonquin has decided to cancel its annual Founders' Days Festival due to flooding concerns. It is the first time in 57 years the festival, which was slated to take place July 27 through July 30, has been cancelled, according to a statement from the Algonquin Founders' Days Facebook page.

"This decision comes about due to record flooding of the Fox River both in Algonquin and the surrounding communities combined with our concern for flooded homes, businesses and public areas," according to the statement. "As residents of Algonquin, we have worked tirelessly day and night, juggling work schedules and family lives while putting our heart and soul in attempting to pull together the best festival for our community."

Ultimately, the committee "decided we all need to concentrate our efforts on the residents that are in most need of help" instead of focusing on making the festival a reality this year.

Here is the full statement from the Founders' Days committee.

To our friends in Algonquin and the surrounding communities, we regret to inform you that the Algonquin Founders’ Days Festival 2017 is canceled.

This decision comes about due to record flooding of the Fox River both in Algonquin and the surrounding communities combined with our concern for flooded homes, businesses and public areas.

As residents of Algonquin, we have worked tirelessly day and night, juggling work schedules and family lives while putting our heart and soul in attempting to pull together the best festival for our community.

In the past two weeks, we have discussed every option with all of the Village entities to ensure this festival would meet the expectations you have come to expect. We, like so many others, have been watching the status of our local parks and the Fox River worsens by the hour.

With public safety in mind and trying to limit the impact Mother Nature has upon our hometown fest, the decision was made to move to Algonquin Lakes. As our community is aware, the Fox River just has not cooperated. The Village entities and their resources have been over extended - even with support from surrounding municipalities helping in our effort to fight the encroaching flood waters.

It has come to the point that as a community, we all need to concentrate our efforts on the residents that are in most need of help. The Founders’ Committee and the Village believe strongly in this community and now is the time when all of us need to focus on what our town needs most.

Founders’ Days has never been canceled in 57 years. Now more than ever, we rely on our community for support and now your community needs you. Although not having a festival will financially hurt Algonquin Founders’ Days Inc., it pales in comparison with what our residents are going through and the devastating personal losses they will incur. While you would support Founders’ financially by coming out to the festival, we’re asking that you instead turn your support to the community and offer your time until this dire situation is rectified.

This affects us all, whether we are on the river or not. There is no valid reason the suffering of a few shouldn’t be met with support from the many, especially in a large community like ours. Algonquin Founders’ Days does not use monetary resources from the Village so recouping the losses will be hard. Eventually Founders’ will recoup losses from not holding the festival this year, but for others…they are losing everything; homes, possessions, memories.

Algonquin Founders’ Days is important to many in our community and we anticipate your continued support. We are working with the Village for an alternate date in the near future. As Founders’ could not take any more resources away from the Village for our festival, we ask that you join us and do the same in helping where help is needed.