Good food, fun, music and drink guarantee a good time at Libertyville Goose Is Loose Festival

"When the Goose Is Loose July 23 at Church Street and Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, The Breakfast Club, a Chicago area '80s tribute band, is one of the two or three bands, depending on how you look at it, that will crank out the tunes for the annual event. It's all part of the Goose Is Loose Festival sponsored by Libertyville Sunrise Rotary Club, which will benefit at least 25 local charities and two international charitable efforts.

Knowledge of how the event will benefit those in need will add another measure of warmth to the hearts of those attending. The other measures have to do with good food, friends and entertainment.

"We're just a high-energy '80s band," said Breakfast Club guitarist Steve Ballog. "We're very crowd oriented - just a fun party band."

But, Sunrise Rotary Member Howard Jaffe, chairman and CEO of Oakbrook based Inland Bank, said the first band is actually two.

"They do two sets - one as Fast Eddie and the Corvettes, the other as Parrot Head Express," he said. "Parrot Head is of the Jimmy Buffet and Beach Boys genre."

Jaffe said that each of the first band's two sets will last 45 to 50 minutes.

"Our feature band (The Breakfast Club) is going to do three sets from about 8:30 p.m. all the way to the end of the party," he said.

What Jaffe represents to the coordination of the night's entertainment, Bob Stemper, owner of S & S Wine and Spirit Warehouse, 830 S. Milwaukee Ave., means to the palate of those attending. With Stemper involved, no one will go hungry or thirsty.

His store has about 1,000 wines and 175 craft and imported beers, not to mention 25 vodkas. For the Goose Is Loose, Stemper has selected five wines: two red and three white, all served up by Sunrise Rotary members.

"These are restaurant quality house wines," he said. "It will be about $5 a glass ... for six to seven ounces."

Mickey Finn's Brewery, 412 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, is providing the beer for the event.

When stomachs start to rumble, Stemper said partiers will have choices of specialty appetizers, ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches, and more to satiate their appetites.

Food vendors include: Main Street Smoke House, 536 N. Milwaukee Ave.; and Fatman’s, 13860 Rockland Road, from Libertyville; as well as Gilroy's Catering of Grayslake, and more. Prices will run $5 to $7 per plate.

Choosing the vendors to provide the food was easy. Sunrise Rotary Club members are well familiar with the finer quality cuisine they serve. Finding a recommendation for the band was another matter.

"I personally went to see The Breakfast Club to check them out," Jaffe said, describing them "as advertised.  They dress in wild outfits of the era and interact with the audience. I think they'll make sure we all have a good time."

Jaffe said that, before The Breakfast Club takes the stage for its first set, Sunrise Rotary will use the break as an opportunity to give away some prizes and do a drawing. The drawing includes a $15,000 grand prize, ten $1,000 prizes, and ten $500 prizes. Tickets for the raffle, affectionately known as The Goose Dropping Raffle, are $25 each.

For more information about the event, or to purchase a raffle ticket, visit: www.gooseisloosefestival.com<http://www.gooseisloosefestival.com><http://www.gooseisloosefestival.com>. To learn more about the bands, visit: www.breakfastclublive.com and www.fasteddieandthecorvettes.com.