No unaccompanied minors, only clear bags at Naperville's Last Fling this year
No unaccompanied minors will be allowed at Naperville's Last Fling this year, per new security measures announced by organizers on social media.
Put on by the Naperville Jaycees, the annual Labor Day celebration is scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 1. With less than three months to go, the nonprofit social service club announced in a Facebook post that the event will have more safety requirements than in previous years, some of which are being dictated by the city.
Among them is a provision that attendees under the age of 18 be accompanied by someone over the age of 25. One guardian will be able to supervise up to five minors.
They have also instituted a clear bag policy, meaning only see-through and small clutch bags will be permitted. Bag storage will not be available and anyone with unapproved items will be turned away, organizers say. Further, all patrons will be subject to metal detector screenings.
The announcement of the additional measures come days after organizers of the city's annual India Day Festival & Concert said they would be scaling back festivities this year amid rising costs from city-mandated security requirements.
Bolstering safety measures at the Last Fling will impact the Jaycees 'significantly,' said Karen Coleman, the event's public relations and marketing chair. But the additional measures are also necessary for putting on the safest event possible, she said.
'We just need everyone to understand how important safety is to us,' she said. 'We would be devastated if something untoward happened at our event.'
Asked about the financial impact of the added measures, Coleman said they were still figuring out the total cost but estimated it will be 'in the tens of thousands of dollars.'
The new requirement for minor supervision was born out of crowd control issues related to minors in past years, Coleman said.
As was the case previously, Last Fling will again be surrounded by fencing with gated entrances, Coleman said. The event's current location is along Jackson Avenue from Ewing Street to Main Street.
However, the layout of the grounds may be altered next year, she said.
'The city of Naperville wants us to change the footprint of the event,' she said.
Last Fling could move away from Jackson Avenue and take place at the Naperville Riverwalk's Rotary Hill instead. At this point, it's a possibility but 'not a done deal,' City Clerk Dawn Portner said.
Like it does with every event in town, the city's special events team will evaluate the lessons learned from this year's Last Fling once it's over to determine if any changes need to be made for future events, Portner said.
'I think (one) of the issues that we're concerned with is compression,' she said. '(Last Fling) is a great event. It's a well-attended event, and we want to make sure that everyone who goes is safe. And if there is an incident that happens, that police can get in there (and) the fire department can get in there. … That's the way we look at it.
'Does it need a bigger location? Does it need a new location? Will (that) help if we do have compression issues? And if we have anything that we need to be concerned with, can we do it better? Is there a reason to do it better?'
In an interview last week, Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said additional security requirements at large-scale events in town are 'something we've been really pushing towards for the past few years and are finally getting traction (on).'
'Outdoor events are big, big targets for those looking to do bad things,' Arres said, 'and they're increasingly vulnerable to mass violence. … (These recommendations) keep these events safe and can actually deter threats before they occur.'
Coleman said this year's Last Fling will still be the staple Labor Day celebration that attendees know and love — just safer.
'We're not trying to ruin anyone's great time or change the perspective of this awesome, end-of-summer event,' she said. 'We're super excited for the Fling this year.'
Updates and more information about Last Fling, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, can be found at lastfling.org.
tkenny@chicagotribune.com
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