DGreport.com

The joint was jumping this weekend from Friday afternoon (Thurdsay if you had kids at the ride night) right through late Sunday.  On Friday night the car show and a well-attended Rotary Fest brought out the masses. Saturday morning the Farmers Market packed them in.  Casual strollers took advantage of the last days of the [...]

The Downers Grove Rotary Club’s  GroveFest proposal was approved by the village council Tuesday night, ensuring a privately operated alternative to Heritage Fest, which the council suspended last year citing budget issues. The club, which has hosted annual Oktoberfest celebrations and also operated the Heritage Fest Beer Garden for the past five  years, is confident [...]

Rotary picks up the pieces; fits them together in a smaller package. As soon as council whacked funding for Heritage Fest last December there was a resulting hue and cry of DG angst that generated 6,195 FaceBook supporters.  As soon as it was clear Heritage Fest was not going to receive funding, the DG Rotary Club, presided by Barb [...]

The Community Events Commission met tonight.  Village Manager Dave Fieldman was leading part two of an exercise designed so the CEC could figure out their mission moving forward, and did a fine job.  Tell me again why in the past we spent good money on outsiders to moderate this kind of priority setting stuff?  Exactly. [...]

You’ve got to love a pair of high school kids who not only rally more than 5,000 fellow citizens to a cause, but also follow through with ideas and commitment. South High students Rachel Pineda and Brianna Richardson launched their “Bring Back the 2010 Downers Grove Heritage Fest group on Facebook in December. I wrote [...]

Good news in 2009. Update- I kludged an upload of the complete 2009 Heritage Fest Annual Report, available after the break.

How much does Heritage Fest cost the village?  How much positive budget impact does the village receive from suspending it for 2010?  The final figure released by the village indicates that suspending the 29th consecutive Heritage Fest will save the village $494,000. A copy of the 2009 report written last October has been requested.  Who [...]

Two Downers Grove South High School students have launched a Facebook group aimed at convincing the village council to reconsider its decision to cut the 2010 Heritage Fest. The public group, “Bring Back the 2010 Heritage Fest,” is administered by Brianna Michele Richardson and Rachel Pineda, who is identified as its creator. “The Downers Grove [...]

Budget passes 6-1. Everyone on council agreed this was a tough budget to do, and in the end all but  Commissioner William Waldack voted for it. Several council members echoed Bruce Beckman’s request for a “debriefing” so that the good and bad of this year’s marathon process could be reviewed and improvements wrought. Most council [...]

Via Twitter, the mayor is encouraging Downers Grove residents with an interest in Heritage Fest to attend tomorrow’s Community Events Commission meeting at 4 p.m. in Village Hall. Notice the opportunity for public comment — five minutes maximum — is at the top of the agenda.  A brain-storming session is also scheduled. At its Nov. [...]