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player ready...Ryan Freer says that mid-July means attending River Fest along the Fox River in Yorkville.
“This is just something we look forward to every summer and I like that it’s local,” Freer said Saturday at the fest organized by the Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department. “I’m a music guy and so I always like to see the bands that come through.”
River Fest, an 11-hour community get-together on Saturday at Riverfront Park, has been a Yorkville tradition for almost 20 years.
Traditional mainstays include country music, a variety of food options, craft beer tent, a variety of family activities and more.
The popular cardboard boat race went off at 2 p.m., preceded by a best-in-show design contest for the race which was held an hour earlier.
Shay Remus, superintendent of recreation for the Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department, said while many of the festival events remain the same, organizers “try to reinvent with a new theme” and that this year, kids’ activities leaned heavily into the new Spider-Man movie coming out July 31.
“We always have a similar structure but a lot of the details and kids’ activities are new every year so it does take some additional creativity and upkeep on our end just continuing to make this exciting and new for everyone that attends,” she said. “This year, a lot of what we’re doing is themed off of Spider-Man and we always try to pick something that is pop culture. All of our activities and even some of our drinks are themed off of that.”
Jessica Law, of Yorkville, came with her husband Michael and son Jackson, 3, to the event on Saturday and said this was actually their first River Fest as they just moved into town less than two years ago.
“I like the community festival idea and you can tell this is a close-knit community,” Jessica Law said.
Michael Law said he has participated in festivals over the years and that, “I’ve enjoyed the family stuff.”
“I know they put on a lot of events down here. Yorkville is known for it,” he said. “I grew up in Frankfort and it’s the same deal – a lot of great family festivals.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.