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Business & Tech

Park Ridge's First Pizza Fest Kicks Off Sept. 7

The Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the fest on Friday and Saturday in downtown.

For those who like pizza, Park Ridge will be the place to be this weekend.

The Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce is throwing the city a pizza party from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. Pizza parlors across the area will descend upon Summit Avenue, between Prospect and Touhy avenues, for the fest, said Gail Haller, excutive director of the chamber of commerce.

The fest also will provide live entertainment – Foghat on Friday and Daryl Struermer from Genesis on Saturday. 

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To get into the pizza area, the chamber is asking patrons to donate $5. The pizza vendors will sell their pizza and keep those profits. Patrons will not have to buy tickets to purchase pizza. Instead pizza vendors will sell pizza using cash. Pizza patrons also will be able to buy beer at the event, too. 

The Pizza Fest is a fundraiser for the chamber, Haller said. The chamber had traditionally raised funds for its scholarships and operations through annual golf outings, but those outings haven't made as much money for the chamber lately. The Pizza Fest could bring between $5,000 and $10,000, which is what golf outings had at one time pulled in. But the outings have not attracted as many recently, so the chamber only raised $2,000 last year, Haller said.

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City officials said Pizza Fest will cause time delays and rerouting of three Pace Bus routes – 209, 241 and 290 – because part of Summit Avenue will be closed.

  • Route 209 will be rerouted after heading north on Northwest Highway. It will take a right on Washington Street, left on Touhy Avenue and right on Busse Road before resuming its regular route. 
  • Route 241 will be rerouted after heading south on Prospect Avenue. It will take a right on Touhy Avenue before resuming its regular route, and then it will detour again on Prospect Avenue before resuming its regular route. 
  • Route 290 will be rerouted after heading east on Courtland Street. It will detour left on Belle Plaine Avenue, right on Cumberland Avenue and right on Touhy Avenue before resuming its regular route. It will again be detoured after heading west on Touhy Avenue. It will head left on Cumberland Avenue, left on Belle Plaine Avenue and right on Courtland Street before resuming its regular routes. 

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