Nearby SausageFest Returns, Becomes Meatier

Organizers are already gearing up for the third annual SausageFest in next door Lake View, and this time, there are plans to make it the largest yet.

Scheduled for June 15-16, SausageFest if chock full of live music, art and, of course, sausage. The event is held in the shadow of Wrigley Field on Sheffield Avenue—between Addison Street and Waveland Avenue—and organizers say they’re adding a few features to the festival.

“The 2013 SausageFest will be somewhat similar to what we’ve done in the past,” said Hank Zemola, CEO of Special Events Management. “… The concept is very successful, but what we’ve done this year to change it is add a children’s festival on Saturday, and bring in a car show Sunday.”

Zemola is looking to expand Sausagefest to accommodate the extra crowd, adding attractions on Waveland Avenue between the CTA train tracks and Kenmore Avenue. And expanding the festival could mean more money injected back into Lake View.

SausageFest is the primary fundraiser for the Lake View Citizens Council, a non-profit organization made up of area officials and neighbors to help steer the community in the right direction. In the past, half of the money generated from the $5 entrance fee went toward the LVCC, and the other half toward a group that researches prostate cancer.

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But this year, Zemola is looking for a new organization in East Lake View to be the other benefactor to keep the money local. The East Lake View Neighbors organization was asked to help pick the recipient.

Zemola says last year the event rounded up about $20,000, a 30 percent drop from the previous year.

SausageFest runs both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. and features some of Chicago’s best-known meat shops, butchers and restaurants. The performers at the event have not yet been announced.