Tag Archives: Rockford

What’s to Like About Rockford: On The Waterfront

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As promised, here is my first monthly post about what makes Rockford a special place to live.

On The WaterFront is an annual music festival that takes place in downtown Rockford over Labor Day weekend. Starting Thursday evening, the festival runs through Sunday night. This year over 80 performing artists were featured on five different stages including: The BoDeans, Creedance Clearwater Revisited, Smokin Gunz, Casey James, Guy King, The Lovehammers, and lots of local groups. In the past, I’ve seen Ted Nugent, Daughtry, Styx, Cheap Trick and Buddy Guy at this festival.

In addition to the music, there are lots of special attractions. Carnival rides (1/2 price before 2 PM), food vendors serving your standard carnival fare (corndogs, elephant ears, BBQ turkey legs, lemon shake-ups) as well as some specialty items (crab rangoons, the walking taco, pulled pork nachos)–this year, The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor from Forest Park, IL was there, the Cupcake Ice Cream was a favorite–and lots of community booths, including the ComEd Kids Castle, where a parking garage is turned into a free game/craft emporium for kids under 12.

The festival has gotten smaller over the last couple years, another casualty of our economy. But it’s still cheap to get in (I paid $10 for a three day pass, even though I only went on Sunday). Kids under 9 are free. The festival advertises $15 for a three day pass purchased ahead of time or $15 for a one day pass at the gate, but there are lots of employers in Rockford who purchase passes in bulk for discounts they pass along, as long as you get the passes ahead of time. Parking is extra of course, but the further away you park, the less you pay. Lazy me parks in the garage across the street for $5.

Less crowded, great music for cheap, beautiful weather, tasty food, and you can throw your kids inside these inflatable plastic hamster balls on a pool of water and watch them try to stand up…

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What’s not to like?

Photos by Karin Blaski 9/2/12

What’s to Like About Rockford…

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My family is considering moving to North Carolina in the not too distant future and I have mixed emotions about it. When I think of NC I think of mountains and beaches, southern hospitality and northern seasons, more manageable winters and fewer summer insects, and I’m ready to high-tail it out of Illinois. Then I see the Phlox blooming in my garden, have a neighbor over for a backyard bonfire, hear my children rave about their school and my roots sink further into the Rockford ground.

My husband says, don’t forget Rockford’s stats: the highest unemployment in the state, highest crime rate, highest high school dropout rate…

I say, but I love my super aggravating/rewarding job…

He reminds me of when my minivan gets stuck at the top of the entrance road to my son’s school in the wintertime and other parents have to get out of their cars to push me…

I remind him of some of our favorite restaurants, the Sinissippi Light Show every Christmas, how much we love our church family…

We go back and forth. I waffle. But for the time being, we stay.

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be a lot to like about Rockford, IL. In fact, lots of Rockfordians are “as grumpy as a cat caught in an empty fish barrel,” says the man who works at Kelly’s Mobil. So I thought, I’ll use this blog to remind me why I want to stay. I’ll create a running series entitled, “What’s to Like About Rockford” and once a month I’ll post something positive about the city and surrounding neighborhoods where I live, work and play. That’s only 12 posts a year. Surely, I can do this.

Suggestions welcome!

Photo by Karin Blaski, 8/3/2012