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Hundreds of families and friends celebrated the end of summer Sunday at the Batavia MainStreet Block Party and Taste of Batavia.
The event featured live entertainment at the Peg Bond Center Performing Arts Pavilion, food samples from local restaurants, a car show and children’s activities.
The event was rounded out with the annual Batavia Mothers Club Pie Bakeoff which attracted 27 contestants.
The mild temperatures seemed to make for a relaxed, carefree crowd in contrast to the early years of the pandemic, said Batavia MainStreet Executive Director Beth Walker.
“We are definitely seeing a decrease in the tensions related to COVID,” Walker said.
Crowds were noticeably lower last year, he said.
“We saw a lot of masks and people were still hesitant about being around crowds. This year, people are excited to get things back to normal,” he said.
Other than a $5 beer-drinking wristband for adults, the event was free.
MainStreet’s mission is to bring people downtown, Walker said.
“Our slogan is that downtown is everybody’s neighborhood,” Walker said.
“I appreciate the atmosphere and friendliness of the community,” said downtown Batavia yoga studio owner Denise Espinosa as she relaxed on a bench on the Batavia Riverwalk.
Troy Harrison invited brothers-in-law Juan Ramírez and Eric Solorzano from Chicago and St. Charles at the Labor Day weekend event.
Harrison brought her three children, Ramirez was babysitting four other children in the family, and Solorzano had her son, with all the children in bounce houses.
“The sense of community is great and the bounce houses are a big hit with the kids,” Harrison said.
Michael Sppillone of Aurora brought his three sons, Lorenzo, 5 months, Jaxon, 5, and Johnny, 12.
“We came for the kids’ activities and the car show,” Sppillone said.
Brad and Kelly Bender of Wheaton were with their two sons and two of their friends at the Batavia event.
“Our friend from Batavia invited us to have a good time and relax over the Labor Day holiday weekend. There’s definitely a hometown feel here,” Brad Bender said.
The family brought their 1970 Chevelle to the car show on North River Street.
The family was grateful to have something to do over the extended Labor Day weekend.
“It’s a comfortable night with a gentle breeze coming in and we don’t have anything to stress about,” Bender said.
Jessica Ruck of Batavia came with her 5-year-old twins Elora and Andrew. The young people painted decorative faces that made them look like tigers.
“I want my kids to see that supporting the community and being a part of everything it has to offer is fun,” said the Batavia mom.
Ruck was part of a band that opened the festival in previous years.
“Experiencing the arts, food and being outside is fun. We’re trying to hold onto the summer as long as we can,” he said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
