De Pere finds more to celebrate
Expanded four-day fest lands Rick Springfield

Look out, Summerfest. There's a festival in De Pere that's getting international attention thanks to the acts it draws.

Mary Lynn Huberty, executive director of Celebrate De Pere, had barely hung up the phone after booking this year's headlining act when a woman called with a question: Is Rick Springfield really coming to Celebrate De Pere?

You bet he is. And with the Celebrate De Pere dates posted on four of Springfield's Web sites, the 10-year-old festival is known in places such as Spokane, Wash., and Saskatchewan, Canada.

But there's more to Celebrate De Pere than the 1980s pop star best known for his tune "Jessie's Girl."

The Memorial Day weekend festival, which will run from May 26 through May 29 at Voyageur Park, will feature three stages of entertainment, a children's area, a four mile walk-run, a Memorial Day service, a variety of food tents, a three-on-three basketball tournament, a homemade boat race and the De Pere Kiwanis Club Memorial Day Parade.

It also will feature what Huberty said will be the largest Memorial Day weekend fireworks display in Wisconsin.

"This is a huge community event," Huberty said. "Everyone gets so into it."

Kiwanis parade chairman Joe Schinkten said the festival's organizers have as much fun planning Celebrate De Pere as those attending the festival.

"It's typical small-town. You've got the same group of people doing it every year so we've all become great friends," said Schinkten, one of the original members of the Celebrate De Pere committee. "It's good for the community, it's good for Northeast Wisconsin, but the organizers have a lot of fun with it, too."

Bigger and better

Festival organizers expect this year's event to outdo fests of previous years in terms of attendance and money raised, Huberty said. This will be the first year in which the festival runs Friday through Monday instead of beginning on Saturday.

That decision was made in order to give festival organizers and vendors an evening to iron out any kinks before the first full day of festivities, Huberty said. But Huberty also expects the extra day to bring extra visitors.

Last year, about 58,000 people attended Celebrate De Pere and $700,000 was raised. Although Huberty could not predict how many will attend this year's festival, she said the goal is to raise $1 million.

"With the extra day and some good weather, I know we can do it," Huberty said.

Part of the proceeds from Celebrate De Pere go to local charities. This year, donations probably will go to organizations such as the De Pere Beautification Program, the De Pere Main Street Program, the De Pere Park & Recreation Department, the De Pere Police Department's Crime Prevention program and Armitage House, a De Pere home for veterans, Huberty said.

Also, a Rick Springfield fan club is trying to get a guitar signed by Springfield to raffle off during the festival, Huberty said. The proceeds would go to Ronald McDonald House and Armitage House.

Consistency breeds success Huberty credits her staff, a group of 25 people, for the successful run of festivals Celebrate De Pere has produced over the last decade. Of those 25 staff members, 20 of them, including Schinkten, have been on the committee all 10 years.

"They've stayed around because they really care about Celebrate De Pere," Huberty said. "And we have a great staff party afterward."