Enjoy United Fall Fest activities in Campton Hills
The fourth annual United Fall Fest returns with a day filled with fun, food and fellowship from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Congregational United Church of Christ, 40W451 Fox Mill Blvd., Campton Hills. Admission is free. It is organized by the church in partnership with the Fox Mill community and the village of Campton Hills. For details, visit unitedfallfest.com.
Players of all skill levels are welcome to join the bag tournament. You can register online at unitedfallfest.com or at the festival. Online registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 4. Practice throws begin at 3 p.m. The event feature regulation, tournament-quality boxes and bags. The fee is $30 per team. Local restaurant gift cards awarded for first place through fifth place. Proceeds will benefit local charities.
They expect as many as 50 classic or vintage cars for the fourth annual Classic Car Show from 4 to 7 p.m. There is a $10 entry fee to display your car, which includes dinner. And the first 50 participants receive a dash plaque. Participants vote and judge the three winners.
Headlining the festival will be the local country rock band Billy Croft & The Five Alarms featuring music from The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt to Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Sugarland. Stealing Ginger, a rock-and-roll cover band from the western suburbs, will open the music stage this year.
In addition, the fest features a Kids Corner crammed full of fun, chaperoned activities. The 2014 fest menu features pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, corn and a special fest smoked sausage crafted by Ream's Elburn Market. Stop by the beer tent. Plus, there was lots of fun finger food: cotton candy, popcorn, sno-cones, ice cream and more.
The Fox Mill 5K and 1M Fun Run kicks it off in the morning and a bonfire and live music closes it down at night.
The fest's first year in 2011 attracted nearly 700 people, and last year saw double that number. This year?
"We're planning for closer to 1,700," says Mark Molloy, who leads the volunteer committee. "We really think of it now as the premier summer family event for our area."
Generous local sponsors help make it happen, and local organizations - the Fox River and Countryside Fire District and the Campton Hills Police Department, among them - participate as well.
And in return, the fest gives back. Proceeds benefit the Congregational Church's charitable mission, which includes these local charities: CASA-Kane County, Elderday Center, Habitat for Humanity-Pottawatomie Partnership, Riverwoods Campus, St. Charles Shelter Assistance, TriCity Family Services and Tri-City Health Partnership.
"United Fall Fest is like a big family reunion," says fest volunteer Tim O'Brien. "You see friends, you see neighbors, you see people you know from around town. There's really nothing else like it."