Above / The Naperville Jaycees will celebrate 50 years of the Last Fling, a four-day family festival with a carnival of rides held along Jackson Ave. In addition activities are featured at Naper Settlement and along the Naperville Riverwalk, with a Main Stage for concerts at Rotary Hill.
Above / During a Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon back in 2011, Rick Motta provided an account of how the Last Fling and the Labor Day Parade got started.
To help the Naperville Jaycees celebrate 50 years of The Last Fling, Rick Motta, Naperville resident and creator of the event, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 2015 Labor Day Parade at 10AM on Mon., Sept. 7, 2015.
Motta was a member of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on behalf of the Rick Motta Barber Shop when he became inspired by the popular movie Picnic. Motta suggested that a festival and parade be held on Labor Day, and board appointed him to serve as the first chairman of The Last Fling.
“So, in 1966, The Last Fling was born with the best parade ever and some festivities in the Centennial Beach parking area,” Motta said.
Above / In 1967, Bev Patterson Frier received the first-place trophy from Rick Motta for her float entry in the Last Fling Labor Day Parade. (Photo courtesy Bev Frier)
Motta’s passion and perseverance helped grow the event to a four-day festival, and he served as chairman for six years through 1972. The Last Fling was entrusted to the Naperville Jaycees in 1981.
“We are so pleased that Rick will be joining us for the parade, and we enjoy hearing his stories of how The Last Fling began,” Danielle Tufano, 2015 Last Fling public relations and marketing chairperson, said. “It’s amazing that for as large as this event has become, the goal is still the same: to provide a fun and family-friendly festival to celebrate the end of summer in Naperville.”
Labor Day Parade / 10AM Mon., Sept. 7
The 2015 parade will begin promptly at 10AM, and the route will be the traditional route, starting at Naperville North High School, heading south on Mill Street, turning east onto Jefferson Avenue, south on Main Street, west on Porter and ending at Naperville Central High School.
For more details, visit www.lastfling.org.
