Following two RISE Up Foundation ‘splash into country’ music festivals in 2021 and 2022, the McHenry-based nonprofit has decided to take a vacation this summer, according to founder and McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett. announced.
“We have raised $450,000 for the RISE Up Foundation in 2022,” Jett said in a text to the Northwest Herald.
Fort McHenry and Miller Point Park, two city parks benefiting from music festival funding, are expected to see the fruits of their labor this spring and summer.
The foundation founded by Jett and his wife Amber has planned its first music festival at McHenry’s Petersen Park on June 19th and 20th, 2020. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, that first festival was postponed.
Rescheduled for September 2021, the event raised $200,000 for the Splash Pad water feature at Fort McHenry Playground in Whispering Oaks Park. Supply problems with his chain delayed that project to his late September 2022, too late for the summer season. Jett said it is slated to open this spring.
Funds raised were allocated to Miller Point Park for the 2022 concerts on September 16th and 17th. The McHenry City Council approved him $2.27 million for renovations to the park in December.
Of the total RISE Up raised last year, $250,000 was donated by retired businessman Gary Lang “personally to allocate funds for a pavilion at Mirror Point (Park) in December,” Jett said. I am writing.
That work is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 20, said Parks and Recreation Director Bill Hobson. “The construction fence will be provided to start the project,” he said.
The first part is setting up the site for the new McHenry Riverwalk Shops. The small shop is expected to open by June 1, and the water feature and pavilion are expected to open later this summer, Hobson said.
Jett said it’s time for a break, but plans to resume the festival in 2024.
“We’ve raised a total of $650,000 over the last two years. We’re taking a break so our volunteers can take the summer off and put on a bigger and better show,” Jett said in a text.
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