Route 34 communities in Kendall County will bring a long-time punchline to life Oct. 24 with the very first Plano Bologna Sandwich festival.
The punchline? Remember the one about what would you get if you put a town named Bologna just west of Plano on Route 34?
That day also happens to be National Bologna Day.
The festival is a collaboration of Mayor Bob Hausler of Plano, Mayor Rick Olson of Sandwich, both cities’ Chambers of Commerce and many others.
The fictitious town of Bologna will spring to life in tents set up just west of the Old 2nd National Bank along the Route 34 border of Plano and Sandwich from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Two honorary co-mayors have been named — Ed Schleining of Wurst Kitchen in Plano and Karl Rud, retired butcher from Sandwich.
To Olson, “It’s just a day to have fun. In this day and age, why not have fun with an event that really won’t cost anything and will just bring people together?”
The Lions Club is leading a collection of non-perishable food items for area pantries and donors will be rewarded with — what else — a free plain ol’ (fried) bologna sandwich. Students from Indian Valley Vocational Center have designed a logo that will be used on t-shirts available for sale at the festival.
Entertainment will be provided from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. by a Joliet-based band, appropriately named “The Baloney Brothers.”
Will this be an ongoing event?
“We don’t know yet,” said Olson. “We will have to see if the idea catches fire. In the meanwhile, we just hope people will come out and have some fun.”
Susan Thanepohn is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
