DarienFest Without A Home

DARIEN, IL — The organizers of the annual DarienFest are struggling to find a place for this year's event, striking out so far with both the local park district and schools, the mayor said Monday. The festival has been held in the late summer in Darien Community Park for a number of years.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Mayor Joseph Marchese said "several factors weighed against" the Darien Park District's allowing the Darien Chamber of Commerce to hold DarienFest at either Community or Westwood parks, though he did not indicate what those factors were. The district would allow the fest to be held in the parking lot at the Darien Sportsplex, Marchese said, but the chamber rejected that idea because the asphalt and lack of greenery made it a bad spot for a fest.

In an interview, Stephanie Gurgone, the park district's executive director, said before the park district approves any application for DarienFest, the chamber needs to pay a $6,204 bill for damage caused by a vendor during last year's event. The vendor's heavy truck, she said, damaged one of the park's pathways.

"The park district had to pay out of taxpayer dollars to fix the damage," Gurgone said.

Gurgone said the park district received the chamber's request for use of a park Feb. 27. The park board, she said, must review the application. A park board committee will hold its first discussion on the application next week, she said.

Westwood Park is not an option because it consists of wetlands and baseball and soccer fields, Gurgone said. The park board has made no decision on the Sportsplex, she said.

Because of the park district situation, Marchese said the chamber approached Hinsdale High School District 86 to allow the use of Hinsdale South High School's property for the fest, but the the district indicated ongoing construction for the next three years would make the school unavailable.

Eisenhower Junior High is also out. Darien School District 61, Marchese said, decided against allowing DarienFest because liquor would be sold. "Even if it was sold on the street, the district said no," Marchese said.

Then the chamber looked at a forest preserve property next to a Sterling Bay development near Interstate 55, Marchese said. But the company that provides the DarienFest carnival said it could not set up rides there because of the uneven terrain.

Marchese said he wants to hold DarienFest and is trying to get chamber and park district officials together to find a solution. He said he wrote an email to Gurgone and April Padalik, the chamber's executive director, to get them to meet about the issue.

Marchese said he would moderate a discussion so that the two groups could work out any differences and possibly hold DarienFest in one of the parks.

He said the meeting has not taken place yet. "The chamber is committed to have a DarienFest, so it's my hope we find a location," the mayor said.

In an email to Patch, Padalik said, "The Darien Chamber of Commerce anticipates that DarienFest 2020 will take place. There is an ongoing discussion about the future location of the event, as the Darien Community Park is no longer an available option per our discussion with the Park District."

As for the damage, Padalik said, "The park district’s allegation of damage is an insurance claim. The Darien chamber has provided the park district with contact information of all parties involved. We leave it up to the park district to resolve the damage claim."

Last year's DarienFest included a carnival, a car show and music. It has been held for 32 years.