Kishwaukee Valley Wanderers member Brian Wallace tells Rotarians all about their fitness and pleasure trail in Genoa and how it has been used to create a fall festival in collaboration with multiple community organizations.
Kishwaukee Valley Wanderers member Brian Wallace was at this week’s Rotary meeting to explain how a desire to create a community-wide destination event in Genoa led to the VolksFest Festival held on the first weekend after Labor Day. VolksFest is German for “People’s Festival.” The Wanderers were formed to take advantage of the parks and paths along the Kishwaukee River and are part of the national American Volksport Association. The Association promotes non-competitive fitness and pleasure walking using marked courses across the country that are publicized to members. The Genoa group maintains a 6.2-kilometer path with interested participants directed to the local ACE Hardware store for specific path information. Wanting to expand the impact of the path, the Wanders partnered with various other community groups to create their end of summer/start of fall three-day festival.
Wallace said multiple events are held during VolksFest, each sponsored by different groups. Among the activities are organized walking, also called a Volksmarch (People’s March); a Boy Scout breakfast; a Duck Race, a tent with more than 30 local food vendors; and a Craft Beer tasting event.
Wallace said organizers hope to expand park and path related activities beyond the fall extravaganza. One idea is adding disc golf. Instead of clubs used to hit balls into holes, discs are aimed for baskets. He said they are also looking at doing an Easter Egg hunt, a summer concert series, and even a Kishwaukee River cruise.
Please bring a wrapped item (approx. $15 in value) for a gift exchange.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, January 5. Our speakers will be Dr. Laurie Borowicz, President of Kishwaukee College, and our January Student of the Month.
Donations are currently being requested for the Sycamore Food Pantry. Bring a bottle of laundry detergent...or $10 for Julie Sgarlata to purchase one. Money is easier to handle.
Personal hygiene items (bar soap, shampoo, etc.) are also being sought.
December 5, 1901 – Animator, voice actor, producer, entertainer, and the creator of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney, is born in Chicago. During his storied career he wins a record 22 Motion Picture Oscars dominating the Best Animated Film category.
December 6, 1896 – Famed lyricist Ira Gershwin is born in New York City. He collaborated with his brother George to become a musical powerhouse team that includes the Pulitzer Prize winning musical play “Of Thee I Sing.”
December 8, 1765 – Cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney is born in Westboro, Massachusetts. His invention that removes seeds from harvested cotton prompts yearly cotton production in the U. S. to jump from about 3,000 bales a year to 73,000 bales a year.
December 9, 1886 – American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry with a company that bears his name, Clarence Birdseye, is born in Brooklyn, New York.
December 6, 1877 – At his laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, Thomas Edison spoke the children’s verse “Mary had a Little Lamb…” while demonstrating his newly-invented phonograph.
December 7, 1941 – The Japanese attack the U. S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii leaving 3,000 Americans dead and leading to the U. S. entry into World War II.
December 9, 1990 – Labor leader Lech Walesa wins a landslide victory in the Polish presidential election becoming their first democratically elected head of state since communist rule began after World War II.
December 11, 1936 – King Edward VIII announces in a radio address that he is abdicating the British throne citing his inability to govern without the support “of the woman I love.” He marries twice-divorced Wallis Simpson in 1937 and they live out the rest of their lives as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
