Mud volleyball, truck and tractor pull draw visitors to Elburn Days festival
One fun thing leads to another at this weekend's Elburn Days celebration.
The truck and tractor pulls beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, in the turf parking lot at Elburn Lions Park will ready the earth for Sunday's messy competition: mud volleyball. Just add water.
The ground gets pretty torn up during the motorized machinations, preparing the venue for nets, volleyball and players unafraid of the slippery slop, said Stacy Groesch, Elburn Lions Club member and park event coordinator.
“The fire department hoses it down to create mud. They take the dirt and you play volleyball in a mudhole. They get all gooey, slip and slide everywhere,” she said.
Groesch said 48 teams have signed up for the contest, which requires all players to be at least 18 years old.
The three-day Elburn Days festival kicks off Friday with a 6 p.m. 50-unit parade that includes marching bands, sports clubs and local businesses and organizations, Groesch said.
A craft show featuring more than 25 crafters and presented by the Elburn Chamber of Commerce opens at 6 p.m. Friday and continues through Sunday. Carnival rides and games also open for the weekend at 6 p.m. Friday.
The festival will offer a beer garden, bingo games in the main pavilion, a 4H petting zoo, livestock judging and auction and pie-baking contests.
New this year is a bags contest in the beer garden at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Main stage live music will include Back Country Roads at 8 p.m. Friday, Modern Day Romeos at 8 p.m. Saturday, and Bella Cain at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Several food vendors and concession stands will be on site.
“We (Lions Club) also sell food. The Lions cook rib-eye steak sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs,” Groesch said.
The 2019 car raffle will award the winner a car priced at up to $40,000. Tickets are $20. The Lions Club will also have a 50/50 raffle with $5 chances for sale.
“We're also doing a free vision screening,” said Groesch.
Those will be available for children younger than 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday; noon to 2 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
The festival is the Elburn Lions Club's largest fundraiser of the year, Groesch said. Funds generated help maintain the community park and help the Lions with other philanthropic pursuits, she said.
Admission to the festival is free; there is a $5 per person fee to attend the 41st Annual Truck and Tractor Pulls. Free parking on the grass in the park is available; parking donations are encouraged.
Groesch said a good turnout is expected.
“We get thousands of people,” she said.
Elburn Days festival
When: 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16; 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17; and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18
Where: Elburn Lions Park, 500 Filmore Street, Elburn
Admission: Free; $5 per person for truck and tractor pulls
Details: <a href="https://www.elburnlions.com/elburn-days/">elburnlions.com</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/elburndays">facebook.com/elburndays</a>