Winterfest, a free Lake County community event presented by the Vernon Hills Park District for an estimated two decades, took place Saturday in the vicinity of the Century Park Pavilion.
The event was originally scheduled for last month, but was postponed due to the frigid weather forecast for mid-January. Approximately 200 people attended the rescheduled festival, according to Tom Ritter, the Park District’s superintendent of recreation.
“Winterfest is something we do on an annual basis to get people outside and come out to our parks, enjoy the weather, usually to enjoy ice rinks and sled hills … snow activities, building blocks, coloring the snow,” he said.
“But obviously, we have to modify it this year because of the weather,” Ritter added. “But, it still gets people outside. It is about celebrating what we have. The parks are endless.”
The event featured a fire pit, where visitors could warm up and make s’mores. Included were indoor family crafts, onsite games, horse-drawn carriage rides and dog sled team demonstrations.
Ritter indicated that Vernon Hills is an example of the quality parks offered in Lake County.
“Lake County is a wonderful place,” he said. “We do feel like we’re an essential part of that. And especially with a place like Century Park with Big and Little Bear Lake. Even though our primary goal is to serve our residents, we’re happy to draw people from other towns as well.
“There are people who come from all over,” Ritter said.
Anastasiia Riazanova of Vernon Hills watched daughter Emma, 3, savor a roasted marshmallow outdoors.
“It’s really good for walking outside,” she said about the weather.
Dog sled team demonstrations were popular. Jason Hussong — the owner, dog trainer and musher with Doggie Development Academy of Machesney Park — fronted the High Flying Huskies dog sled team, featuring several Siberian husky breed canines.
“What we’re doing is, not a lot of people get to see outside of YouTube or Facebook, sled dogs running,” he said. “So this is our chance to be able to educate people about the dogs, and about what they’re originally bred to do.”
Hussong’s organization partnered with Tricia Sutton, president and co-founder of Paws 4 Kids 4 Paws of Bensenville, to bring dogs to the public when community members can meet and pet the canines.
“The kids can learn how to interact with dogs,” Sutton said. “They can learn about how dogs love what they do and what dogs love. Different dogs like different things, and so we like kids to know how to build their skills and by learning to communicate with the dogs, they actually get better at communicating with each other.”
Iryna Gumeniuk of Vernon Hills was happy that daughter Diana Kesarchuk, 4, spent time with the Siberian huskies in the company of Diana’s grandmother.
“We go to the festival every year to visit our dog friends,” Gumeniuk said. “This year, there was one new dog, Elsie.”
Elsie is an Alaskan husky, a sled dog since 2021 and part of the High Flying Huskies.
“She is amazing,” Gumeniuk said, adding that Diana felt that, “all the dogs are very friendly and kind, and Elsie is just an unsurpassed dog, friendly and kind.”
Diana, her mother said, “dreams of having such an amazing dog like Elsie.”
Tom Pittman of Vernon Hills attended Winterfest with wife Courtney and their children Lily, 5, and Liam, 2. The children’s grandparents also were there, Bill and Loretta Pittman of Vernon Hills.
“It’s good to get them out after a whole winter stuck inside,” Tom Pittman added. “Happy to see the dogs and all the activities. It’s a good experience. It’s very cool.”
Courtney Pittman said, “The kids love it. We go to all the different parks around. We have so many to choose from, all summer. We’re going to different parks and playing with kids in Lake County.”
Visit https://www.vhparkdistrict.org.
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