Our beloved pop punk granddaddies will play this Saturday at…the Taste of Randolph festival in Chicago. You thought I was going to say Brewfest, didn’t you?

I wish I could say Brewfest, but the Brewfest organizers don’t seem to be interested in bringing in real music.

The thing about Brewfest is that I think it’s all about selling beer and food for profit. Wow, is that a surprise or what?! Actually, I think a lot of festivals are about more than just profit. They’re often organized by neighborhoods, cities and communities in order to showcase something. In the case of Taste of Randolph, it’s showcasing the neighborhoods eateries, entertainment options and shops. Well, you say, Brewfest is showcasing beer, and in particular, the beer of area microbreweries. Okay, that’s true. But I guess I wish it could be a little bit more.

This is the 11th year of Brewfest, and I think, since the city does kick in $3,500 to make this thing possible, maybe it ought to start asking the people at the Rock (Brewfest’s organizers), when are you guys going to start getting more vendors? How about working with the restaurants downtown to get some taco stands, phad thai stands and so on? It’s a little unfair to force everyone to eat food from one vendor.

What I’m saying is that this event can be much bigger (and more beneficial to downtown Elgin), but there seems to be an inclination to keep it small and profitable for a certain company. It’s ironic, because I think it can be more profitable for them to rent out stalls to vendors than monopolize food sales.

Aside from food though, how about the stands selling the random knicknacks that you normally see at street festivals? Last year had like one stand? I think it was the Daily Herald selling newspapers…

Anyway, here I am complaining again…

And I haven’t even started about Festival Park :)

But I’m glad somebody’s enjoying it:

Filed under: arts, downtown, events, music, restaurants.
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