Three days, thrice as nice for St. Isidore Church's annual Trifesta

When a church with about 20,000 members tries to throw an annual picnic, it can become quite an affair.

St. Isidore Catholic Church in Bloomingdale will celebrate its annual Trifesta this weekend, which provides a summer celebration for parishioners and raises funds for Feeding Northwest DuPage, We Care Fund and the Outreach Ministries of Saint Isidore.

"It's more 'fun' than 'fundraiser,'" said Tom Norton, St. Isidore parish administration director. "It's our version of a parish picnic, but I guess because of our numbers we thought we could also raise funds for good work."

The Trifesta, which has been held for almost a decade, will run Friday through Sunday, Aug. 20-22, and includes events for families and adults.

Trifesta begins Friday morning with a golf outing that sold out this year. That's followed on Saturday with the Race to Grace 5K, which typically attracts about 100 runners and walkers. Norton said the church hopes to attract more runners in the future.

"We'd like to see that double in size, if not triple," he said. "It would be a great problem to have."

The event concludes with a daylong celebration Sunday that begins with an outdoor Mass and continues with children's games and entertainment, live music, an international food court, a reptile exhibit, bingo and a raffle.

The festival ordinarily attracts about 2,000 people throughout the weekend, and admission to Sunday's event is free. Norton said most attendees are parishioners, but the fest is open to the public.

"We welcome everyone," he said.