Tweet Pin It

There’s a new event happening in Barrington tomorrow that’s all about encouraging kids to get outside, explore nature and have a blast while breathing fresh air.  Three local organizations are coming together to host the first ever Barrington Kids Fest at Citizens Park and they have a long list of exciting outdoor activities planned for the day.

This is the first year that the Barrington Breakfast Rotary Club, the Barrington Park District and the Leave No Child Inside initiative of the Greater Barrington and Lake Zurich areas are joining forces to create a unique Barrington Area Kids Fest.  They’ve decided to combine the 11th annual Community Kite Fly and the 2^nd annual Family Nature Fest to form one all-encompassing outdoorsy festival and it’s totally FREE and open to all kids and families in the community.

A ton of local groups, organizations and businesses are supporting the event to provide families with action-packed recreational and educational activities designed to get everyone moving and active.  In addition to your kites, be sure to bring your bikes this year. One of the tomorrow’s highlights will be a family bike adventure through Cuba Marsh led by Barrington cyclist, Bob Lee…

Bob is training to embark on a 2,500 bike ride this fall from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico.  His goal is to raise $1 million for three charities, American Cancer Society, the Les Turner ALS Foundation and Hospice Palliative Care of Northeastern Illinois.  This will be Bob’s third ride across the country and will complete over 12,000 miles he’s cycled around the perimeter of the United States.

In addition to the community bike ride, Bob Lee’s “Ride for 3 Reasons” team will be offering bike decorating, bike and helmet safety checks and other fitness activities. To learn more about Bob’s missions, visit his website at 3Reasons.org.

Supporters helping to make Saturday’s event possible also include:

Barrington Area Conservation Trust
Barrington Area Library
Barrington Cultural Arts Center
Boy and Girl Scouts, Care of Trees
Chicago Wilderness, Citizens for Conservation
Cook County Forest Preserve/Crabtree Nature Center
Davis Speed Center
Erehwon
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
Friends of Spring Creek/Forest Preserve
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Indian Guides Miami Nation
Lake County Forest Preserve
Language Stars, Nature Ladies
Quilt by Association, Ride for 3 Reasons
Smart Farm, South Barrington Conservancy
Water’s Edge Waldorf School

Citizens for Conservation’s Youth Education Chair and Vice President, Pat Winkelman, says Kid Fest is going to be an exciting opportunity for area families to enjoy and learn about nature.  All food and raffle tickets sold will benefit the area’s non-profit organizations.

The fest will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.  If there’s rain, the event will be moved to Sunday, May 6.  It will be held at Citizens Park, located on 511 Lake Zurich Road (at Route 14) in Barrington. For more information or to register, visit the Barrington Breakfast Rotary’s website.  And if you can’t make the fest, but would love some creative ideas for enjoying the great outdoors with your family, visiting the Barrington Park District website and the Leave No Child Inside website at FunOutside.org.
____________________________________________________________________________

About the Author
We’re excited to introduce you to local writer, Laura Pavin, who will be contributing stories at 365Barrington.com, starting this spring. Laura is a quick-response news and feature writer with a keen eye for human interest happenings in Barrington. She’s totally on top of the local social networking scene and you can follow her Tweets by clicking HERE. One of our favorite things about Laura is that she’s a recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. I*L*L – I*N*I ! To learn more about Laura’s background and the stories she writes for local news publications, visit her website at LauraPavin.Wordpress.com.