06/17/2026
Sunday’s Heroes, Hogs and Hot Rods started off looking like Mother Nature had personally RSVP’d “absolutely not” all week long.
Nonstop rain, soaked prep, and that lovely pre-festival panic where you start questioning every life choice that led you there.
And then, just for dramatic effect, it pulled a full plot twist—went from “this is a disaster” to “hold my drink… we’re making peace and kicking this party off right.” 😎
The crowds were massive, the energy was flirting with OSHA violations, and we officially hit “everyone dancing in the streets like nobody’s watching (but absolutely everybody was)” status.
Huge shoutout to Tyler Truth, Justin Another Janice, The James Michael Travis Band, and South Side Social Club for absolutely cooking the entire place. 💃🕺
We had such an incredible turnout last year that it humbled us immediately, taught us a few lessons, and sent us right back to the drawing board like, “okay… we need a bigger brain and possibly industrial-grade clipboards.”
And all jokes aside… clipboards were absolutely on the list. But somewhere between “be prepared” and “what could possibly go wrong,” the rest of the checklist also included…
😅 Porta potty orders got a serious upgrade—because nobody needed extra chaos layered on top of an actual weather situation.
💸 The ATM got absolutely smoked last year, so we made sure it came back with backup this time.
🥞Food vendors? We loved how fast everything went… but also realized “blink and it’s gone” isn’t a sustainable dining model. So we brought in reinforcements.
The food must have been good! We had reports of a mysterious bite-and-run situation over at our booth. 😂
🔥 The BBQ comp ran out of tickets last year, so we leveled up to an overnight cook and officially added brisket to the lineup of things you absolutely needed in your life. And the cups made for a sweet bonus!
🧢 Merch… well. Oops. We did it again. We lowered prices, added a secret drop, and y’all responded like it was a limited-edition sneaker release. Our hearts are full… our merch bins are empty… again. Don’t worry, restock is already in motion (yes, those sweet new hats included).
💨 And let’s just say Big Fellas Cigar Lounge was not exactly struggling for foot traffic to chill.
Not only did the community show the heck up, so did our Village of Manteno officials. (You always feel special when the Mayor makes time to make an appearance, judges a bbq competition and brings members of the board with her!) Huge THANK
YOU to Mayor Lamore and Representatives Peggy Vaughn and Mike Barry for checking out our shindig! Shout out to Representative C.J. Boudreau, who was boots on the ground and volunteered with us all day!
Community is made up of so many individuals. And ours is made up of the best of the best.
⚠️ Manteno Public Works - From lending your skills and expertise in troubleshooting, to equipping us with every possible “festival survival item,” there is absolutely no way we could’ve pulled this off without you. Barricades, cones, tables, generators, power expertise… it might look like a pile of random “small stuff” to the outside world, but to us it’s the difference between a functioning festival and complete chaos.
You ask all the right questions, anticipate the disasters we haven’t even thought of yet, and somehow guide us through every possible roadblock with calm, steady confidence (while we’re over here just hoping nothing explodes).
You are absolutely crucial to making this day happen, and we don’t say that lightly.
But seriously… thanks for keeping us organized, powered up, and most importantly… not electrocuted. ⚡️
🚔 Manteno PD- Not only do you keep our festival safe and sound, you also show up in the wee hours of the morning (and let’s be honest… at this point it is absolutely not morning yet) ready to jump in wherever needed. Moving cars, blocking roads, troubleshooting situations before they even become situations—you handle what look like small tasks to the outside world, but to us they’re the difference between organized chaos and actual chaos-chaos.
You’re always ready if we need backup, always calm when we don’t know what we’re doing, and somehow always one step ahead of every curveball we throw at you.
We truly can’t say thank you enough.
And on top of it all, we genuinely love getting to see you outside of the 911 version of life too.
To our sponsors…There are no words to express how grateful we are that you support our mission. Regardless of it was your 1st or even your 7th fest with us, what we do is impossible without the love and generosity that you have shown us. This fest is not only the biggest fundraiser we host every year, it gives us an opportunity to give back and throw the biggest party to spend time with all of you. We are humbled that you choose us.
🫶🏻 Strip away the planning, the hustle, and the “we totally meant to do that” moments, and what’s left is the real heart of it all: the people who show up and make it matter.
Our committee is a force; built on dedication that doesn’t quit. They’ve spent the past year planning, volunteering, and generously donating every last ounce of brainpower and energy they had left to give.
And honestly, we’re speechless (which is rare)… deeply honored, incredibly moved, and a little concerned for how few brain cells they had left to spare—but grateful they chose to spend them with us.
🍿John Haberkamp – General Manager of Everything, Raffle Guru, Professional Problem Solver, and the guy somehow keeping the entire Heroes, Hogs & Hot Rods circus running on schedule.
If HHH had glue, duct tape, and a backup generator all rolled into one person, it’d be John. The dedication this guy brings is only rivaled by his commitment to never smiling in photos. 😏
Of course, he also loves to razz the rest of us as if he isn’t the one with documented experience in cotton candy and balloon animal making. Maybe that’s exactly why this circus runs so smoothly. After all, every great show needs a ringmaster… and apparently, we’ve had our own PT Barnum all along. 🎪
The countless hours, lost sleep, and heart he pours into this organization are impossible to measure. Simply put: without John, we aren’t us. We don’t function.
🛻☄️Guido & Lauren Salin, Nick Adcock, & the whole Explosive Kustomz crew – for being the master at all things cars and all navigating last minute weather curve balls. (Tell your participants we are truly sorry about the wasted car wax. 😬) This year was “FIRE” in every sense of the word. 🔥
🧠 Karen Smietanski & Chris Senesac – Mental Health & Community Resource OG’s. The hearts that hold it all together when everything else is chaos.
🔥 Shaun Darrah & Kyle Lund– BBQ masters of the pit and highly advanced in precipitation avoidance tactics.
💪 Tony & Robin Soucie —As if creating the Strongman Competition of the summer wasn’t enough, they also managed to give us one of the coolest photo ops at the festival—with a flame-throwing truck in the background. 🔥 For those of us who are just a few pounds of muscle short of competing, thanks for letting us pretend for a minute. 😎
🎯 David Batz – Supreme Commander of the Bags Board
Jakob Knox – You got things rolling for us and set us up for a smooth transition
🏛️/🥨Ashley Peterson – This girl took on the meaning of no excuses—just results. Not only is she our food and vendor mastermind she took on her new dual role as Manteno Chamber of Commerce President & CEO and Village of Manteno Marketing & Community Relations Director and making her first official festival absolutely incredible. (In true boss form, obviously.)
🥷 Robin Senesac- The dude who does it ALL! Not only did he head up our security, he completely dominates in all aspects of what it means to volunteer. From dressing the part (Best costume award for sure!) to taking out the trash he jumped in like a ninja wherever we needed him, before we knew we needed him and his team followed.
🎸 Tom Asay – Our music man with the best artists in his Rolodex
🎤 Denny Case – Our forever favorite MC and all things radio related
🙌 Tim Zydek – Volunteer Battalion Chief and master predictor of weather—the last one is questionable at best, just sayin’! 😜
⛑️Tyler Johnson- Our poor new case manager who got a crash course in hanging out at “in person meetings”. A sincere thank you for spearheading our Veteran luncheon for our residents at the Manteno Veteran’s Home. They love this every year, and having someone there to truly connect with them was epic.
Not to mention, taking on all of us at one event. We’re a lot, we know. At least you do now too. Welcome aboard. ⚓️
🎟️ Brandy Buchmeier– Professional juggler of wristbands, merch, marketing, and whatever PHaT just decided to do five minutes ago
🎖️To all our security & cleanup heroes — we cannot thank you enough for being the on the ground heroes!
And last but absolutely not least, to our Mission Commander and founder, Eric Peterson (sometimes we think his title should be Ringmaster Extraordinaire) for staying calm, collected, and cool during the whole thing—weekend weather rollercoaster included. Normally I would mention his uncanny ability to put out fires (figuratively, and maybe literally), but we had a flame throwing truck this year (We warned you FOMO real 🤷🏻♀️)…so we’re not really sure how that would be appropriate?? How about always ready and dependable as hell if there are fires to be put out?? 🤔
Your leadership means the world to this crew of misfits that you took along on this wild ride and created a safe place for us to call home. 💪
Monday, we made sure things downtown were able to be restored to their original beauty, got our wheels outta the square, and then a much-needed night of recharging our batteries… 😴
But rest assured… the wheels are already in motion for next year. (Again, figuratively and literally.)
There is something very humbling about seeing someone’s vision become reality, and yesterday we were humbled hard, but it felt like community, not defeat. And this community is one we hope will continue to see this mission through.
From the bottom of our very humbled, very tired, and very loved hearts… we felt every bit of it, and we’re grateful for it all.
🇺🇸 THANK YOU. ❤️🤍💙
