Community Pulse: Family Fest 2025 brings smiles to families, and business representatives faces

Every year the day of Family Fest brings me joy as I watch children play games at each of our vendor booths and the business owners interact with new customers.

This year that joy seemed to last longer and spread further as the gymnasiums at the former Shabbona School in Morris were filled with loud chatter and laughter throughout the day. We had 53 booths at this year’s Consumer Expo and about 1,000 people came through the April 12 event.

The Grundy Chamber’s annual Family Fest event continues to be a tradition for local families, as well as attracting new people to learn about our local business and organizations while their children are entertained.

The event was again presented by Comcast and CPV Three Rivers Energy Center. D’Arcy Chevrolet, Constellation- Dresden Generating Station and Vistra Kendall Power Plant were also this year’s event sponsors. Thanks to all of these sponsors the event was again free to attend by all.

At Family Fest this year, you could do anything from buy a piece of cake from Coal City’s Sweet Treats and Tasty Eats booth to have the inside of your ear checked by Dr. Jamie Sikora of Southwest Hearing Solutions in Morris’s booth.

Children with mermaid faces to Spider-Man masks were painted thanks to the face painter sponsored by American Commercial Bank. Balloon swords and puppies also filled the arms of kids thanks to a balloon artist sponsored by Morris Hospital YMCA.

The Kids Zone featuring two jump houses, coloring, demonstrations and visits by mascots was sponsored by Hexagon Real Estate, Procter & Gamble, Sherwood Oaks/The Country Farmhouse, ONEOK, Financial Plus Credit Union, Village of Minooka, Grundy Bank, WCSJ/K Country, LyondellBasell, Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care, Little Learners Children’s Academy, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt - Minooka, Morris Soccer Association, SOCU, and Joliet Junior College.

We welcomed back Dave DiNaso’s Traveling World of Reptiles sponsored by Old Nation Bank where hundreds of children got to pet a giant snake, some even got to wear small snakes around their shoulders. Toddlers held tiny lizards, and adults even got to hold turtles. I don’t step closer than 5 feet away from the snakes, but I was impressed by the 7-year-olds jumping for joy at the opportunity to touch a snake tail.

New this year was hearing the vocal stylings of four students from Rielly Sanders Vocal Studio in Morris. Sanders came to the rescue on short notice a week before Family Fest when we had another demonstrator cancel. The vocal studio’s four students each sang

a solo cheered on by their families and Family Fest attendees that morning. These young girls put the voices of adults to shame and inspired other young children. Learn more about Rielly Sanders Vocal Studio at riellysandersvocalstudio.com.

Every year Family Fest is alternated between Morris and Minooka so for Family Fest 2026 we look forward to returning to Minooka for the annual event. Stay tuned to grundychamber.com, follow us on Facebook and Chamber members watch your Chamber communications for next year’s date and location.