ROCHELLE — The Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival committee proved that some things get better with age. This past weekend celebrated the festival’s 20th anniversary and the events were bigger and better than in year’s past.
Wonderful, fantastic, phenomenal were a few of the words Lisa Chrisco, Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival president, described this weekend.
This year the festival featured 14 rides and a new attraction company. A&A Attractions set up downtown Rochelle and everyone enjoyed the rides all weekend long.
“The carnival company was phenomenal,” stated Chrisco. “I would like to thank A&A Attractions for donating wristbands for the kids from Mooseheart Illinois. The kids had a fantastic time.”
The kids were visiting Rochelle on behalf of the local Moose lodge and rode in the parade prior to enjoying their afternoon at the festival.

“The fact everyone was having a wonderful time was a highlight for me,” explained Chrisco. “The food was great. The ride selection and lights at night were a spectacular site.”
Along with the new carnival company, the 20th annual festival featured a new layout providing a more spacious venue for festival-goers to navigate. This year the beer garden was moved next to the main stage and those in attendance were able to hear and see the live performances while enjoying a cold beer.

Local entertainment filled the stage each day starting with the Little Miss Peanut contest on Friday night where Alayna Smardo was crowned the 2017 winner. The crowd stayed to listen to the Vodka Boys.
On Saturday morning the Kid Zone opened and featured a visit from Belle and the Paw Patrol. Chrisco was hearing positive feedback from parents who enjoyed the experience with their young children. Saturday night Soapstone, Burn N Bush and Mr. Big Stuff all kept the main stage rocking and attendees in the beer garden dancing.
The car show on Saturday featured 196 vehicles, the most in the heritage festival’s history. Along with the car show Prescott Brothers Ford hosted a free test drive with Ford donating $20 for every ride to Focus House Foundation. The test drive raised $1,200 for the non-profit organization that supports Focus House.  

The annual parade made its way downtown on Sunday and featured a wide variety of floats by local organizations. Three awards are given out annually to recognize participants. This year the President’s Award was given to Ballet Folklorico. St. Patrick’s Church was given the Mayor’s Award and the Grand Marshal presented his award to the Flagg Township Museum.
Attendance was at a high this year and Chrisco does not know a final count of attendees but stated there were more this year than in past years.
“The excellent line up in local entertainment this year brought a large crowd downtown each day as there was something for everyone to enjoy,” added Chrisco. “We always strive to have local talent and appreciate their hard work and involvement in the community.”
The weekend ended with the drawing for the 50/50 raffle. Kendra Meinen was the big winner taking home $2,755.
“It was a wonderful weekend. I would like to thank all of our sponsors, the City of Rochelle, the committee for all of their hard work and dedication putting together a wonderful festival for our community. Without them the festival would not exist,” stated Chrisco.