This week’s two-day Barrington Celtic Fest was proposed by the owner of an Irish pub as a way to promote his and other businesses while providing St. Patrick’s Day fun for the community, and village officials grabbed at it.
Bryan McGonigal, owner and general manager of McGonigal’s Pub, is paying for a tent, Irish entertainment and food, and he and about a dozen other participating businesses will keep any profits. The village has boosted the first-time event by agreeing to close a portion of Park Avenue outside the pub at 105 South Cook St., waiving numerous fees and heavily promoting it on Barrington’s website and in its newsletter.
Such private-public collaborations serve several purposes, say village officials, including saving taxpayers money that might have been spent on a parade, providing entertainment and fostering community spirit.
McGonigal, who along with his brother-in-law, received thousands in grants to renovate an older building for the pub and adjacent Park Avenue Wine Bar, sees it as a “chance to showcase Barrington a little bit and of course it would be centered around us,” he said. “The draw back is the village can’t pay for it like they do for non-profits. They can’t put village funds toward it because we are a business, but we are the ones profiting from it.”
In hindsight, McGonigal thinks the fest could partner with a non-profit and support something like cancer research in memory of his mother, he said.
“Next year we can make it bigger and better and it can be for a cause,” he said.
The fest on Thursday and Friday features Irish dancers and bands, and traditional Irish food and beverages under a tent that will close Park Avenue between South Cook and East Station Streets until noon Saturday. The idea originated during a discussion at a monthly merchant’s meeting late last summer on how to draw in more people to the community. With existing village-sponsored events, such as Cruise Nights, Farmer’s Market and a brew fest, McGonigal thought the town could use an Oktoberfest, but it was too late to organize such an event.
“Why don’t we do something like an Irish fest? Everyone thought it was a fantastic idea,” McGonigal recalled.
Other eateries and retail businesses are paying him $100 for a table at the festival and keep any proceeds. He also said he has received financial support from Harris Bank and Motor Werks and other sponsors for for bands and other entertainment. In exchange, the fest will promote their businesses, McGonigal said.
“It’s a big party and we’re going to learn from it,” McGonigal said.
The village tries to be as supportive as possible to help businesses grow and has acted as a sponsor for many events, as long as they’re community-wide, said Village Manager Jeff Lawler.
“In this day and age, where’s there’s much more collaboration between businesses and government, especially in this economy, we try to do what we can to benefit the businesses,” he said. “We have waived fees previously for special events that are likely to help the village achieve the goal of providing entertainment for the community, rather than making residents travel to other communities for the same entertainment.
“This is spearheaded by one business, but several other businesses are participants in this event. A local parade would be a much more costly event for the village and reimbursement for those police costs unlikely, unlike this event when police cost is being paid by McGonigal’s,” he said.
The village has been waiving one fee or another for more than 30 years.
“Staff analyzes proposed events to see how they contribute to the community from an economic and social standpoint and recommends a fee waiver level to the village board,” Lawler said.
The village has an events policy to determine sponsorships, said Village President Karen Darch.
“These (events) are the things that make a community,” said Darch.“It’s an important part of encouraging sales tax revenue and for the sake of events (in itself) because people want things to do. “We are trying to create Barrington as a recreation.”
Among the businesses participating in the fest are retail shops, a bakery and pizzeria, an Irish boutique from Long Grove, a retail shop in Mundelein and the Chicago-based Irish Heritage Center.
“I want to see the town grow. The more people that come onto Barrington, the better it is for businesses and me,” McGonigal said.
He opened the pub last March after spending several millions of dollars on renovations. He and his brother-in-law received a $25,000 business assistance grant from the village to help with interior improvements and $10,000 grants for the facades.
“They have been very helpful to us,” he said of the village. “It was a very expensive project. We gutted the building. These are 100-year-old buildings. It was a family effort.”
