Times Weekly, Web
The annual Back to School Family Festival, which began in 2011 in partnership between The Times Weekly, Joliet Park District, (Nowell Park) and Crossroads Christian Church was a Huge success.
There were nearly a thousand backpacks given away at this year’s event held on Saturday at Nowell Park in Joliet. Sponsors and vendors loaded backpacks with school supplies for every child. Families were able to participate in a fun day with free food, refreshments, face painting, games and a lot of prizes were given away.
Among the many prizes won were bikes, sporting tickets including for a Chicago Bears game. Kids were also able to learn about turtles and other amphibians. Harbor Freight, D’Arcy, Joliet Township, Niko’s Pizza and Minor Morris Funeral Home were the main sponsors.
The vendors were a big hit to the large crowd of nearly 1500 who came out to enjoy the day. The Joliet Public Library gave away books, JGG Mobile Barbershop rolled up in his tricked-out van and donated free haircuts to everyone who wanted a cut, fade or trim, Chick-Fil-A brought their mascot to dazzle the crowd and the Joliet Slammers mascot slid in as well. Organizers thank the community for coming out to the event, next year’s BLAST is already in the planning stage.
