Whitesnake. CREDIT: Screenshot from Whitesnake.com

Whitesnake could perform at a multi-day concert this coming July at the Kane County Government Center if St. Charles entertainment entrepreneur Ron Onesti can get the approval he needs from the city of Geneva, the Kane County Forest Preserve District and the Kane County Board.

Onesti and Geneva Alderman Tom Simonian appeared Wednesday before the Kane County Administrative Committee with a request for a preliminary OK for an event called “MIGFEST,” which would take place from Friday, July 17, to Sunday, July 19, 2015.

Onesti said Wednesday that he had been approached several times over the years to put together an outdoor concert in Geneva similar to events he has organized in downtown Elgin.

“The whole purpose here is to bring music to the city of Geneva,” he said.

In fact, the MIG in MIGFEST stands for “Music in Geneva.”

The plan calls for reserved seating of 2,500 to 4,000 people per day, according to the request submitted by Onesti Entertainment to the Kane County Facilities Division. You can see a copy of the request in the Administration Committee agenda packet.

As with any outdoor concert, the devil is in the details, and Onesti said the challenge has been trying to get approval from the multiple government agencies that are involved. Security alone involves communication with the city of Geneva Police Department, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and the Kane County Forest Preserve District police force.

The venue — Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve, located behind the Kane County Government Center — requires permissions from the Forest Preserve District as well as the Kane County Board. Parking is expected to include 450 to 600 vehicles a day, according to Onesti’s letter.

A letter from the city of Geneva requested that the Kane County Board Administration Committee table the request until the event had met approval by the city, but Kane County Board member Drew Frasz expressed concern that would not leave Onesti enough time, because the Administration Committee meets monthly.

“If we table this, you could be coming here in June for an event that takes place in July,” Frasz said.

Frasz suggested that the committee OK the plan subject to the approval from the city of Geneva, the Forest Preserve District of Kane County and the Kane County Facilities Division.

For the past two years, Onesti worked with Grand Victoria Casino to bring together a series of summer concerts at Festival Park, which is adjacent to the casino. Acts included Joan Jett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Josh Turner, Marshall Tucker, Deep Purple, and a Fourth of July Show last year headlined by Creedence Clearwater Revisited, according to Mike Danahey’s story in the Elgin Courier-News.

The Whitesnake appearance is part of a “Deep Purple Tour” that travels around the country in 2015.