BY ERINN MILLER
Homer, Ill. – Smiles.
That’s what Homer’s Head Activity Coordinator, Angela Lawrence, hopes to see on every person’s face in downtown Homer on August 15-17.
This weekend is a very special one for the small town of Homer, Ill; it’s when this year’s Krazee Daze will be held — the most anticipated yearly event of the five held by this small community.
Lawrence’s passion and affection for Homer’s Krazee Daze started in her childhood. She still remembers it as one of her fondest memories growing up in Homer.
Unsure of the exact date of origin for this annual extravaganza, Lawrence does recall her mother and grandmother talking about attending Krazee Daze long ago, and now plays a key role in making this an experience her children and community will always remember as well.
Homer’s Krazee Daze started out as an event hosted by the businesses along Main Street. To gather the community, these businesses hosted performances and competitions demonstrating the craziest among the Homer residences. The neighborhood bonded over watching each other put on the craziest shows, wear the craziest outfits and accessories and do all sorts of crazy things.
From there, Krazee Daze evolved into the lively community event it is today.
This year’s event will include two food trailers and a dessert trailer, a plethora of vendors including: Thirty-One Gifts, Paparazzi, One Cheesy Family, Scentsy, Homer Boy Scouts Troop 42, Country Corner Jewelry, Cafecito Cubano, Burst Oral Care, Sara Essig Sewing, Sidney Dairy Barn, and Dave Wakefield Produce, the new Homer ambulance and the Homer Fire Department with a Fill the Boot, amusements rides, laser tag, a beer tent along with two beer trailers, live performances by three different home-grown bands, beer pong and bags tournament, a cash raffle, a car show, and a parade. Krazee Daze is going to be set up on Main Street between Don’s Auto Center to the railroad tracks crossing South Main Street.
Main Street traffic for this weekend will be redirected around to Ellen Street.
Even in the past few years, Krazee Daze has continued to evolve.
This year’s event is a bit different from the rest for several reasons. The first big change was the date. In the past, Krazee Days has been held the last week of August. However, this year the Activity Committee was able to move it a week ahead to avoid competition from other end-of-summer events around the area like the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival and the Mahomet Music Festival.
Additionally, the committee has added a second beer trailer and will now be selling Miller products among the wide variety of alcoholic beverages offered including: Budweiser, Budlight, Bush Light, Michelob Ultra, Truly Hard Seltzer, and mixed drinks.
Finally, Lawrence commented on the progress the Homer Activity Committee has made on the financial aspect of this community event. She was ecstatic about the fact that they have been able to grow the base for fundraising and sponsorships for this event and expand towards becoming more self-funded.
This year’s musical line-up for the weekend includes performances from Nickel and Dimes on Friday from 8:00 to 11:00pm, The Zach Dable Experience on Saturday at 3:30pm, and Vinyl Generation on Saturday 7:00 to 11:00pm.
To make the event even more special, these bands all add to the community atmosphere because of their strong ties back to the small town of Homer.
Nickel and Dimes’ lead singer, Nicole, is from Homer, two members of The Zach Dable Experience graduated from Homer, and the owner of Corson’s Music (the musical sponsorship for the event), Dyke Corson, lives right outside of Homer.
Lawrence talked about the importance of scheduling bands and vendors that all have ties to Homer, saying it makes people in the community want to get out and reunite with their friends and neighbors.
“There are a lot of interconnections here in Homer, and a lot of people either lived here, come here, or know someone that’s been here so it’s really nice to have people from other communities in Champaign and Danville area to come back home for a little while,” Lawrence said.
These performances are just a few of the many activities going on at the beer tent located in the open lot at the Main Street Belly Deli and Homer Soda, which will free entrance to all.
For those ages 21 and over, beer tickets will be available for purchase all weekend, and the beer tent will be made exclusive to adults at 7:00 pm every night.
While the adults are hanging out, don’t be afraid to bring the kids along. The open lot on West Wabash Street near the railroad tracks will be the center for all the amusement rides and laser tag.
Krazee Daze starts Thursday, August 15 at 5:00 until 10:00pm. On Friday, it will start back up at 4:00pm, with amusement rides beginning at 5:00pm. Finally, on Saturday, Krazee Daze will run all day beginning at 10:00am, and concluding at 11:00pm.
While attending Krazee Daze, don’t forget to smile.
Lawrence says her reward for volunteering for this event and working for the Homer Community Improvement Association is seeing the fun her community is having and hearing people talk about the amazing time they had.
With a great love for her hometown, she wants everyone to know “there’s more to Homer than just driving through, and unless you take the time to look and see what’s going on, that’s something you could miss in a small town.”
Homer Krazee Daze Schedule
Thursday Aug 15th
Brady Amusements 5pm-10pm
Friday Aug 16th
Vendors 4pm-11pm
Brady Amusements 5pm-11pm
Nickle & Dimes 8pm-11pm
Saturday Aug 17
Breakfast at Methodist Church 8am-10am
Vendors 10am-11pm
Anything on Wheels line Main Street 1pm-530pm
Brady Amusements noon-11pm
Zach Dable Experience 330pm-630pm
Vinyl Generation 7pm-11pm
