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North Aurora Days Committee Minutes

NORTH AURORA DAYS
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Monday, December 13, 2021
Call to Order
Mark Gaffino called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm.
Attendance
Mark Gaffino, Holly O’Brien, Jessi Watkins, Steve Bosco, Bill Hannah, and David Hansen
Approval of Minutes
Mark Gaffino made a motion to approve the November 8, 2021 meeting minutes, which were seconded by Jessi Watkins.
Motion to Approve: All in Favor
Discussion
1. Discussion of Bands
North Aurora Days Chairman Mark Gaffino confirmed the festival hours are 5pm to 11pm on Friday and 3pm to 11pm on Saturday. Administrator Steve Bosco confirmed the times for the bands slots are 5:30pm to 7:30pm and 8:30pm to 11pm on both Friday and Saturday. Bosco mentioned the possibility of having an opening band or kid’s entertainment around 3pm on Saturday since kids activities are anticipated to begin at 3pm.
The Committee reviewed a PowerPoint Presentation of different band genres regarding availability, pricing, and various videos of their performances in the Chicagoland area. Upon initial review and discussion, the Committee liked Whiskey Romance, the Moods, Jolly Ringwalds, and Cap’n Funk and the Groove Train as front runners for the weekend band lineup. However, the Committee mentioned they would like to wait until January to officially decide the band lineup and also asked staff to look into some 90’s/early 2000’s cover bands and to look into pricing for a few headliner bands the Village has used in the past (7th Heaven, Semple, Libido Funk, etc.)

2. Discussion of North Aurora Days 2022
Chairman Gaffino asked the committee if all events should be in Riverfront Park or to use the entire riverfront area, which would include North Aurora Island Park and the old Community Center lot. The Committee said they would prefer to only use Riverfront Park since everything would be located on one side of the street and keeping it contained may be favorable since it is the first year utilizing this location as a full North Aurora Days event.
Chairman Gaffino updated the Committee on activities. Gaffino mentioned Mooseheart gave the okay to utilize their lot for Touch-A-Truck and Safety Day activities. Gaffino also mentioned he was still looking into other activities, which included softball and dodgeball. Bosco mentioned staff reached out and the event will now have two balloon artists and three face painters, which will be from 5-8pm on Friday and 3-8pm on Saturday. Bosco also mentioned two food vendors are in for next year (Suzie’s Fun Foods and RS Concessions) and staff is currently awaiting answers from the other vendors. The Committee discussed some ideas regarding providing kids’ entertainment around 3pm on Saturday until 5pm, which could include a Mr. Freeze type of event, a kid’s genre band, or potentially a performer such as a kid’s magician or something of that nature. Committee member Jessi Watkins mentioned the Library may be a good resource to reach out to regarding kid’s entertainment.
Chairman Gaffino inquired about sponsorship ideas and if the Committee wanted to pursue sponsorships for 2022. Committee agreed bringing back sponsorships would be a good idea since many local business tend to like to sponsor a community event. Finance Director Bill Hannah mentioned sponsorship forms usually go out around March so we plenty of time to figure out booths, tiers, and other sponsorship materials. Chairman Gaffino asked about shuttles. Bosco mentioned the shuttle pickup/drop-off locations at the September event seemed to work and would recommend running the same loops. The Committee supported the shuttles and said it helped bring more people down to the park while spacing out parking across the community. Committee member Holly O’Brien updated the committee regarding scouts and providing hotdogs/burgers. O’Brien said it may be difficult to get the Cub Scouts to run a hotdog grilling and serving station since they are younger and it would most likely fall on the parents. O’Brien said she will reach out and see if the Boy Scouts would be interested. Chairman Gaffino asked staff to look into a laser show that was similar to Oswego’s. The Committee agreed to finalize the band lineup at the January meeting and hoped to have a better idea how the burgers and hotdogs would be served in addition to what food vendors would be interested/available for the event.
Mark Gaffino made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:47 pm, which was seconded by Jessi Watkins.
Motion to Adjourn: All in Favor
Respectfully submitted,
David Hansen

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