Publications & Sites 
Summer concerts are music to Mundelein residents’ ears
Lakeshore Symphony performs under the gazebo at Kracklauer Park in Mundelein Sunday. August 5, 2012. | John Konstantaras~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: September 10, 2012 6:12AM
MUNDELEIN -- On a beautiful summer evening, Mundelein residents sitting on lawn chairs and blankets listened to music by the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra during the village’s second-to-last summer concert of the season in Kracklauer Park.
The eight-week free summer concert series. which began on June 24 and continues through Aug. 12, has become an increasingly popular family event on Sunday evenings, typically drawing crowds of between 200 to 300 people.
“This summer has been hot but we’ve been drawing good crowds,” said Mundelein’s Assistant Village Administrator Mike Flynn. “We’ve had blues, jazz, country, classical and bluegrass. We try to mix it up.”
Paul and Jennifer Langford of Mundelein took their two young children, Chloe, 5, and Cassidy, 1, to watch the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra perform on Sunday night. It is the third time they’ve been to a summer concert this season.
“We’re music lovers,” said Paul Langford. “It’s a beautiful night. It’s something we can do as a family.”
Jack and Sue Forshaw of Mundelein have been coming to the summer concerts for about last four years. They said they have been to nearly every concert this summer and believe the crowds are growing bigger each year.
‘A little Ravinia’
“It’s nice to be able to come out and meet your neighbors, listen to music and have a glass of wine,” said Jack Forshaw, while sipping on a glass of wine and sitting in a lawn chair enjoying the concert. “It’s kind of like a little Ravinia out west.”
“I love it,” said Sue Forshaw. “They have so many different types of music. Every year, it draws more people.”
For the first time this year, TonyDogs, a Mundelein-based hot dog vendor, has been selling Chicago-style hot dogs and refreshments during the concerts.
Tony Skaronea, owner of TonyDogs, said the concerts typically have not had food vendors in past years so he believes the addition of the hot dog stand has filled a void.
“Some people bring their own food but some don’t feel like cooking,” he said. “I think we kind of round out this event.”
Mundelein sponsors the summer concert series, which costs the village about $10,000 for all of the summer entertainment. The Mundelein Park District allows the village to use Kracklauer Park for the concerts. The summer concerts traditionally begin the Sunday before the Mundelein Community Days festival in late June and continue through early August.
The last summer concert of the season will be held this Sunday, Aug. 12, with a performance by the Mundelein High School Jazz Band.
