“Lake Forest Day” is an annual city tradition in Lake Forest that dates back to 1908, but many people spoke of a feeling of renewed happiness for the 2021 version.
The customary elements of Lake Forest Day returned Aug. 3-4 after not happening in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The two-day event featured the familiar elements of carnival rides in West Park. On Wednesday morning, there was an hourlong parade featuring community groups, bands, businesses, school groups, vintage cars and precision drill teams, among others. Participants marched north on Western Avenue, waving to the crowd and occasionally tossing candy to the onlookers.
Lake Forest resident Katie Skinner was among those standing and watching.
“I feel there was a lot of great energy,” Skinner said. “Since there wasn’t one last year, I think people were excited to be out and enjoying Lake Forest like we always do.”
Mayor George Pandaleon offered a welcome to the crowd from the reviewing stand and then marched along the route, as did many other local elected officials.
“It is great to be out and about, doing fun things like Lake Forest Day,” Pandaleon said. “It was nice to see all the new young families in town with lots of kids.”
Lake Forest Day is organized by American Legion McKinlock Post 264 and post officials received authorization to go ahead with this year’s version less than two months ago – amid ongoing safety concerns related to the pandemic.
When city officials signed off on the event, McKinlock post officials scrambled to get the festivities in place and reached out to groups and volunteers who had participated in previous parades.
Lake Forest Day Chairman Ed Geraghty said this year there were approximately 70 groups in the parade, about 10% less than normal because of the shortened timeframe.
By 6 a.m. on the Wednesday the parade was held, the McKinlock representatives were placing American flags on downtown sidewalks leading to the parade staging.
“It was a really good day,” Geraghty added. “There was a lot of pent-up demand and people were pleased to be out. We had big crowds. It was encouraging.”
For some participants, it was a chance to have the walk down Western Avenue that had been taken away last year. That included members of the Lake Forest High School Class of 1970 who normally would have celebrated their 50th anniversary last year. But in 2021, they joined the class behind them in a combined salute.
“It feels great, the Class of 1971 was gracious enough to let us piggyback with them,” said Class of 1970 member David Jacobsen.
There were other LFHS graduating classes in attendance, including the Class of 1956.
“I think the parade gets better every year. It is wonderful to see my old classmates and sometimes I see members of other classes,” said Stewart Griffeth, a Class of 1956 alum. “For people our age this is probably the first social event we have been to in a long time.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer.
