Homewood Days Discussion: Feedback Friday

Thank you to all of our H-F Patch Facebook fans and users who participated in commenting on H-F stories and events this week. H-F Patch's Facebook now has 447 readers who "like" it. That's 60 new fans since last week! Don't forget to tell your friends to like H-F Patch on Facebook! 

There was really on one thing on readers' minds this week: . The and the H-F Patch Facebook page were overloaded with H-F residents' frustrations regarding the annual event. 

When asked if Homewood Days deserves the flack it's been getting, H-F Patch's Facebook users responded:

Marta Pagoria: Yes, it was terrible this year! Not family friendly at all... Not worth the money at all. I won't be going next year. :(

Dina Lyles Harrison: Yes, it absolutely deserves all the flack it's been getting. We paid our 5 bucks per person (x3) to spend 20 minutes there before we had to leave. It was not an environment I wanted my 5 year old or my mother to spend any time in. I hope the village cancels it if this is what its become. I will not go back next year. Many of my neighbors have also said they will not return. There will be no Homewood residents at .

Dorothy Youngblood: I think it does and that's why it needs to change back to a family oriented, neighborhood festival. As Homewood residents, rather threaten to not go next year we need to get more involved and make sure the and elected officials hear the criticism. If it's held again next year with the improvements suggested it'll be HomeSweetHomewood once again.

H-F residents and business owners also took to the site

: As an employee of a Homewood bar and attendee of , Homewood should be ashamed of themselves... there was committee that chose to let the management company charge each Homewood business a few thousand dollars to even HAVE a booth or tent at , not to mention those that would participate would have to purchase kegs and liquor through the Chicago vendor that was chosen. It was a profit situation for the vendor, management company, and village of Homewood and the local businesses would have not only not have made any profit, but would have had to do all the dirty work as well. I worked, in doors, all weekend long serving drinks to the disappointed people of Homewood...

: The way I understand it, and this isn't first-hand knowledge, is that the running of was left open to locals to run but that nobody wanted the job. So they farmed it out. If you don't like it, next year put a committee together and run it yourselves.

: ...This was a bad decision to hire an outside company to run Homewood Days. If this is the way it is going to be from now on, it should just be cancelled altogether. It is sad that for safety reasons we had to be fenced in but to not have any of the bars outside serving just did not make it any fun. We had already gotten to the point of not going before the change and now for sure we won't go anymore. Vendors from Chicago making Sangria? Really? Just cancel it.

H-F readers also voiced their opinions on the . Here's what some readers had to say:

: Residents should show their ID and get in free....non residents are charged. Get rid of the fencing that made it seem seedy! Set up of vendors was bad and no local restaurants. Didn't see families with kids because the ride prices were outragous. Told my kids we would wait for Flossmoor Fest...much better atmosphere! I have always gone but no longer unless alot of things change.

: There were a couple of local restaurants - and Glenwood Oaks. That was all that I saw. Having the fence around the "festival" made me feel like I was in some gang infested area and we "had to be kept safe". All our favorite vendors from the past 10 years were gone... As usual, the handicap access to Homewood Days is minimal - there is only one place that truly was for handicap persons to enter. All the other entrances like on Ridge/Dixie and Dixie/Hickory had the handicap curbs blocked by the tables where we had to pay our $5.00. I am getting tired of disabled persons being treated like 2nd hand citizens in Homewood. If this is how Homewood Days is going to be from now and on, count me and my family OUT! It's a shame too, we've looked forward to Homewood Days every year.......

: I... run a local business in Homewood and we have participated for the past 5 years excluding this year. Mismanaged is truly an understatement! We weren't notified and given any information until the last week of June and at that point would have had to pay a $50 late fee, the price for a booth would have been $600 vs the $250 we paid prior years (we don't even make $600) being there it is truly for us just being a part of the community business. My complaints are more so of being a resident of Homewood for 20+ years and seeing what have become. Depressing to say the least. I was hardpressed to actually find any Homewood residents at the festival. It has become nothing short of a teenage, vulgar speaking, fighting, blocking the walkways non Homewood crowd. What started out as a wonderful things years ago has became nothing short of something I will never attend again as a business and most certainly not as a resident!