Bands, Brews & BBQ a chance to have fun, boost community
Aug. 16-18 Rotary event to feature fireworks finale this year
Bands, Brews & BBQ, the McHenry Area Rotary’s premier fundraising event, is set for Aug. 16-18 at Petersen Park.
Featuring eight bands, mouth-watering barbecue and other fare, as well as craft beers, hard seltzers and more, this year’s event will culminate with fireworks on Sunday, Aug. 18.
The fireworks were unused during Fiesta Days due to heavy rains on their originally scheduled date.
Along with live music, food and drink, the fest will feature grilling party raffle packages, each valued between $500 and $1,000.
“We are hoping for an exceptional turnout this year,” said event co-chairman Don Tonyan, who also is immediate past president of the McHenry Area Rotary. “There are so many tremendous charities that we have helped with monies raised in the past, and we’d love to do even more.”
Tonyan and co-chair Denis Buch said the club is especially excited about its new commitment to the McHenry Community High School dual credit program, toward which the club has pledged $20,000.
Altogether, since the fest’s inception in 2012, more than $400,000 has been allocated to various youth leadership and academic programs, meals for the hungry, health care for those in need, services for the homeless, global polio eradication, and other local and international programs addressing humanitarian needs.
Grants issued over just the last two years include:
• $975 to the Knights of Columbus Council 1288
• $988.23 for construction materials, tools for a Guatemalan dormitory project
• $1,000 to a local group affiliated with Living Waters for the World
• $1,000 to Kids in Need of McHenry County
• $1,100 to Outreach Inc.
• $1,866 to Feed My Starving Children
• $2,100 to Rotary International’s PolioPlus program
• $2,500 to Sunbeams Uganda
• $2,500 to the Family Health Partnership Clinic of McHenry County
• $2,500 toward the Riverwalk Shoppes in McHenry
• $6,000 toward disaster relief in Lahaina, Hawaii
• $6,400 to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program
Funds also have been devoted to Rotary Secret Santa, a pollinator-friendly gardening project at Johnsburg High School, and lumber to craft picnic tables for the Youth and Family Center of McHenry County.
Gates for Bands, Brews & BBQ open at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, with the first band, John Todd, starting at 5 p.m.
On Saturday, RealTime Noise will be taking the stage at 4 p.m. Gates open at 3:30 p.m.
On Sunday, the gates previously set to open at 11:30 a.m. instead will open at 1:30 p.m. due to the addition of the fireworks, with John Ballantyne’s Crazy Heart Band starting at 2 p.m.
Fest hours end at 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The event’s final band, Tennessee Whiskey, will wrap up about 8 p.m. Sunday, and the fireworks launch at dark that night.
Other bands rounding out the schedule are Jimmy Nick after John Todd (with a few combined performances) on Friday night; Recaptured, a Journey tribute band, and 8 Miles South on Saturday; and Wildwood Country on Sunday. Full lineup details are available at mrbbb.com/bands.
Discounted tickets are available at mrbbb.com/tickets.
Tickets are $7.50 each now through Aug. 15; $15 each at the gate.
Petersen Park is located on the shoreline of McCullom Lake, at 4300 Peterson Park Road, McHenry. Three-day passes also are available.
Those are $20 now; $25 at the gate. VIP tickets, which provide one-day entry to the VIP tent plus four premium drink tickets, are $75 each. Children age 12 or younger admitted free.
Bands, Brews & BBQ’s presenting sponsors this year are the McHenry Auto Dealers’ Association and the McHenry Outdoor Theater – Golden Age Cinemas.