Irish Fest no more after dwindling attendance, profits

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Nora McVittie of Elgin peruses a vendor's booth during a previous Irish Fest in West Dundee. | File~Sun-Tmes Media

Updated: January 16, 2012 10:26AM

WEST DUNDEE — It’s been either feast or famine for the longtime Fox Valley Irish Fest celebration, at least in terms of profits.

With the latter being more true the past few years, the grounds of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Parish have seen their last jig, church officials announced recently.

After 16 years of hosting the once-hugely-popular September event, the festival’s committee says it is pulling the plug.

In its heyday in the middle of last decade, the draw would include roughly 12,000 visitors and profits upwards of $40,000.

However, since 2005, attendance has been dropping by about 1,000 visitors per year, and the cost to put on the elaborate production isn’t being recouped by entry fees and sales of food and drink, said longtime Irish Fest committeeman Robert Costello.

“Our festival has always been heavy on expenses. A large amount, over $20,000, is outlaid for tents and the setup. Entertainment is $10-12,000,” Costello said. “All in all, it’s quite a bit of money.”

Friday night’s attendance was dropping sharply in recent years, and Sundays would compete with the first NFL football games. If rain came Saturday, the already-slim margin could mean a complete washout, the committee feared.

This past September, the parish hosted just 5,000 visitors and raised $20,000.

Much of that profit was the result of the $10,000 raffle, Costello said, where $100 tickets are sold to those hoping to win the big cash prize at the festival’s conclusion.

“When you look at the numbers, the raffle itself made a profit. If you separate it out, the event actually lost money,” he said. “The argument becomes, why hold the event if it’s losing money?”

Waking the dead

Despite ending with lower attendance, the event has not been all about profits, said Dan Biggins, who headed this year’s fest.

“It was a great run of 16 years. There were a lot of fun times, and thousands of people were entertained,” Biggins said. “We were also able to retire building debt, replace our parking lot and do some roofing.”

It may actually be good timing, Biggins added, since the parish is preparing to celebrate its centennial anniversary next summer.

The annual Irish Jig Jog one-mile/5k run, held during Irish Fest weekend to benefit St. Catherine’s Catholic School, will likely continue next year since it was always a separate entity, Costello said.

But the death of anything Irish typically doesn’t go quietly, and there might be an old-fashioned Irish wake to mourn the loss of Fox Valley Irish Fest.

Both Costello and Shay Clarke — a native Irishman who conceived the event over drinks at a local pub and helped get it off the ground in 1996 — are trying to plan such an event.

“Being Irish, we try and find humor in everything — even the demise of this festival,” Costello joked.

While the cancellation is likely news to the public, it was announced via a church bulletin to parishioners last month.

The newsletter explained that the Rev. Michael Lavan, who joined the church last year, was supportive of the committee’s decision either way.

“Those on the committee always feared that the clergy would put the kibosh on it,” Costello said. “But even with pastor turnover … it never happened.”

He added, “The committee just said, ‘It’s time.’ ”