The second annual Family Winter Fun Fest is drawing near.
And this time organizers are going to be ready for an event that last year well-exceeded attendance expectations.
When planning for last year’s inaugural event, organizers anticipated 500 people showing up. Instead, more than 2,000 people attended the first ever Family Winter Fun Fest.
Now that they know the area’s demand for a family-friendly event in the wintertime, organizers are planning for at least another 2,000 people to attend.
The Family Winter Fun Fest is organized by the Bay-Arenac Great Start Parent Coalition/Collaborative. The organization provides resources and support services for families with young children from birth to eight years old.
The winter festival, however, is for children of all ages.
"The goal is to engage with families with children from zero to 18 years old with providing something for everybody," says Rich VanTol, Supervisor for the Bay-Arenac Great Start Parent Coalition/Collaborative.
"This is a community outreach event to bring families into the Town Center and be active."
More than 40 vendors will be on hand to provide families with information on support services available in the community.
Of course, the Family Winter Fun Fest doesn’t have the word 'fun' in the title for nothing.
The event, which is free and open to the public, features a wide range of activities and entertainment programming for families.
There are the inflatables and obstacles course, a bounce house, Family Fun Club, movie character meet-and-greet, raffle prizes, and more.
The first 35 through the door will receive a free family-size popcorn bucket from Bay City 10 GDX and the first 400 children will receive a grab-bag courtesy of Bay City Town Center. Beginning at 11:30 a.m., BJay’s Pizza & Coneys will be handing out free pizza slices, while supplies last.
The Family Winter Fun Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Bay City Town Center.
Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.