The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 21 this year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The one-day event will differ from years past when it was over three days. Last year’s festival was canceled due to the pandemic.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
ROCHELLE — Once the COVID-19 vaccine became a reality, the organizers of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival knew the possibility of the event returning in 2021 was too.
The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 21 this year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The one-day event will differ from years past when it was over three days. Last year’s festival was canceled due to the pandemic.
LHHF Marketing Director Laura Thomas said the one-day event is due to uncertainty during planning, safety concerns and hesitancy to ask businesses for sponsorship money and donations after a COVID-19 year was financially hard on most.
“If we can at least do one day, it’s better than nothing,” Thomas said. “There are no rides, a parade or a beer garden. That’s disappointing. We couldn’t do it all in one day and couldn’t get a company to bring rides for just one day. We didn’t have extra sponsor money. We’re just doing the best we can with what we have.”
The theme for this year is “One Fine Day,” Thomas said. The festival will include a car show, a 50-50 raffle, a food court, crafts and vendors and live music.
Music will include the Vodka Boys, Southern Ride and Blue Steel along with other local performers. Music will start at 10 a.m., earlier than in years past. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets.
The festival is a nonprofit. The City of Rochelle will return as its biggest sponsor this year as businesses weren’t asked for donations.
Thomas hopes that the event will bring back a feeling of normalcy to the area.
“I know people were disappointed last year,” Thomas said. “It’s still early, but hopefully this year will make people happy.”
For more information, visit lhhfest.com or the LHHF pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.