EDISON PARK — The biggest party of the year in Edison Park, Aug. 19-21, promises food, beer, music, amusement park rides, family-friendly entertainment and head-banging rock.
With a $5 donation requested at the entrance, Edison Park Fest raises money for the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce and a host of community events and projects, including community beautification efforts, the Santa Express, Edison Park Comedy Fest and restaurant week.
Country music singer Jake Dodds will headline the fest's main stage Aug. 19, while Mallrats — which plays alternative rock hits from the 1990s — will headline Aug. 20 and Hairbangers Ball will close out the fest Aug. 21 by bringing the sounds of 1980s hair rock bands back to life.
Nine other bands will fill the streets of Edison Park with music during the day and evenings from the main stage, while the family stage will feature a range of kid-friendly acts, organizers said.
The fest — that will take over the streets around Northwest Highway and Oliphant Avenue — will also feature a basketball clinic, Bingo tournament, a craft fair and a business expo, organizers said.
A parade honoring Jim DelMedico, a former president of the Edison Park chamber who organized the Norwood Park Memorial Day and Edison Park Fest parades for more than 50 years will return after a one-year hiatus.
DelMedico died in 2011, and the fest's parade was renamed in his honor to recognize his "tireless" work for the Edison Park community, according to the chamber's memorial website.
The parade will step off at 11 a.m. Aug. 20 from Ebinger Elementary School, 7350 W. Pratt Ave, and heads south on Oketo Avenue to Northwest Highway and northwest to Overhill Avenue before heading south.
The fest will take place from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 19 and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 20 and Aug. 21.
For more information, go to edisonparkfest.org.
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