A wide variety of events are planned at North Aurora Days, which is set to begin Friday in North Aurora.
Most of the activities will be held at Clock Tower Plaza, 19 S. Randall Road.
North Aurora Days, to be held Friday through Sunday, will include music, food vendors, a beer tent and a variety of events including co-ed softball, a fishing derby, book sales, a kids’ safety demonstration, a carnival, petting zoo and more.
North Aurora Days Committee Chairman and Village Trustee Mark Gaffino said the event is a special one on the calendar in North Aurora.
“I’ve been the chairman the last eight years and it’s kind of a community party,” he said “You often see people you’ve haven’t seen since last year and it’s nice to reconnect.”
A new teen talent contest was planned for this year, Gaffino said, but had to be cancelled due to a lack of participants. Gaffino hopes to get the event on track for next year’s fest.
A new dodgeball tournament has been added for this Saturday and will be held and hosted from 10 a.m. to noon by Jewel Middle School at 1501 Waterford Road in North Aurora. Gaffino said West Aurora School District is partnering with the village for the event.
“The tournament will be for middle-school-age kids and up,” he said.
The festival will feature live music each night, fireworks at the end of Saturday’s program and Sunday’s finale dubbed “Party in the Park” will feature food and music from 3 to 7 p.m.
About 10,000 people are expected to attend over the three days, Gaffino said.
“This is a great value for people as there is no admission cost and you get to come out and see neighbors and friends you haven’t seen for a while,” he said. “There is good food and good bands and I think people like the proximity of things. We have the Kids Safety Days and Touch a Truck at Mooseheart, but everything else is essentially in the same area.”
For a complete list of events, times and locations, go to www.northauroradays.org.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
