BatFest Offers Crazy and Creative Contests for Residents
10-12-04

Batavia, IL: BatFest 2004 will feature unique contests and friendly competition for “kids” of all ages. Karaoke will be featured at the Main Stage, Emceed by Craig Foltos from Noon – 2:00 p.m. A screaming contest will be hosted by BATV and held at the pedestrian bridge at 1:00 with three age brackets of 1-7, 8-14 and 15+ for boys and girls. Next up is a Scary Hair Contest held at Sue’s Family Hair Co. at 1:30 p.m. judged by Sue Heidelberg and Miss Teen Illinois, Nikki Cull. A “Crawl for the Crawl” contest will be held for adults 21 and older and will feature an adult crawling contest with free tickets to the BatFest Poker Pub Crawl at stake. Winners of the Rotolo Middle School BatFest Poster contest will be announced at 2:00 pm at the Main Stage. A Sidewalk Artists competition will be staged on the N. Island Ave. east sidewalks; the number of participants will be limited to 28 (both adults and children are invited to participate). Sidewalk chalk will be provided at the contest registration tent. The Batavia Park District “Fall Frenzy” games and contests will be held at BatFest on the lawn off Houston Street as well from 3-5 pm.

Gift certificates and prizes have been donated for BatFest contest winners from: Smiling Fox’s Sweet Tooth, Pumpkin Patch Kids, Remarkable, First Street Playhouse, All Dressed Up, Baskin Robbins, Cathy’s Riverwalk Diner, O’Brien’s, East China Inn, Lisa’s Heads or Nails, Sue’s Family Hair Co, Batavia Bucks (Batavia Chamber of Commerce), Citgo Service Center of Batavia, Prairie Ford (West Chicago), 6 flying bats, and a model car.

The 4th Annual BatFest will begin with a Dracula Blood Drive at River West Family Fitness from 8 a.m. – Noon. Activities on the Riverwalk and Island Avenue kick off at Noon with the BatMart (Farmer’s Market, Fine Arts and Crafters), Contests, BatCrafts, The Great Batavia Bake Sale, Karaoke, Tractor pulled hayrides, BATV TV Bounce, Storytelling, Downtown Trick-or-Treating (Noon – 3 pm), Sidewalk Artists, Batavia Park District Fall Frenzy Children’s Games (3-5 pm), Albright Theater and First Street Playhouse performances and an evening Batavia Poker Pub Crawl for adults.

The deadline for vendors to register for the BatMart is October 15th. The BatMart will be open from Noon-5:00 p.m. on Saturday October 23rd at BatFest and spaces will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. All vendors must be pre-registered for the event and should call the Batavia MainStreet office at 761-3528 to have a registration form mailed to them if they have not received one.

BatFest is presented by Batavia Main Street, the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, the Batavia Park District and All Dressed Up. Sponsors for BatFest include: Harris Bank Batavia, N.A., Citgo Service Center of Batavia, Kettley & Company Realtors, The Kane County Chronicle, SignTech and Image Awards and Engraving. For more information, please contact the Batavia MainStreet office at 630-761-3528, email britta@downtownbatavia.com or stop by the MainStreet office at 2 E. Wilson Street upstairs on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Friday mornings to pick up information.