Five-year-old Madalaena Konkey of West Dundee leaves the table after winning an ice cream eating contest at the Algonquin Founders' Days festival in Towne Park in Algonquin Sunday. She said she was happy to win, despite having an upset stomach. The free contest was sponsored by Colonial Cafe.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
The 56th Algonquin Founders' Days festival ended its four-day run Sunday in its return to Towne Park in the downtown area.
For the past three years, the festival was held at Algonquin Lakes Park due to the Algonquin Western Bypass construction. Towne Park allows for more activities to be held on Main Street and greater access for festivalgoers, Founders' Days Board President Alan Kirk has said before the fest.
New to the festival this year was Field of Honor Flags, 350 American flags in rows, each honoring a fallen Illinois serviceman or women who died since the Gulf War. It was sponsored by the Northern Illinois chapter of the Veterans Network Committee, which also organize the Honor Flight program that takes veterans to memorials in Washington, D.C.
An ice cream eating contest sponsored by Colonial Cafe drew dozens of hungry competitors who were divided into age groups and shoveled as much vanilla ice cream into their mouths as they could in one minute.
Tom Poole, of Algonquin, of the Northern Illinois chapter of the Veterans Network Committee, rolls up one of 325 American Flags that made up a Field of Honor display at the Algonquin Founders' Days festival in Towne Park in Algonquin Sunday. Each flag represents an Illinois soldier who died in service since the Gulf War. The Algonquin Field of Honor was part of a national program sponsored by Veterans Network Committee, the same organization that runs the Honor Flight program that flies veterans to Washington, D.C.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Ethan Adams, 10, of Lake in the Hills, fights brain freeze Sunday in the ice cream eating contest at the Algonquin Founders' Days festival in Towne Park in Algonquin. He finished in third place while Brady Voyles, 8, at left, won the age group.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com