Wildwood Parks and Recreation will host the Food & Fun Festival at the Wildwood Community Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15.
There is no fee for parking, entry or games. For the third year, Mayor Ed Wolf will cut the ribbon to open the festival.
“This is a great event for area residents and families,” said Wolf. “The Rotarians have tweaked things each year, and it gets better each time. The first year I thought I would be there for about 10 minutes to cut the ribbon, but I stayed almost 2 hours.”
There will be several food trucks on hand for snacks or a meal. The Wildwood Police Department will be providing and fitting free bicycle helmets for all ages. At the Villages Evening Rotary booth, there will be free books for kids provided by BookWorks/Goodwill Suncoast.
According to Club President Kate Tapia, Village of Tierra del Sol South, there will be something for everyone, from a giant inflatable dinosaur slide to golf putting and Games for Grown-Ups. Children will enjoy Clown Alley balloon sculptures and face painting.
The brilliant face painters have been extremely popular with their trendy designs every year. This year, Whimsy Market has curated over 60 unique vendors to be on hand.
“We are really excited to have Whimsy Market partnering with us to bring a great selection of vendors and food trucks,” said Julie Schmied, chair and resident of Village La Reynalda.
The Sumter Landing Lions Club will return with free KidsSight vision screening. This is a quick way to confirm whether your child might need glasses.
For adults, there are raffles for a Wheelbarrow of Booze, a Wagon of Family Fun or a golf package valued at $1,600 for courses outside of The Villages. For raffle ticket information, call Betsy at 847-804-0968.
The opportunity to adopt a pet will be provided by Sumter County Animal Services, and the LifeSouth Bloodmobile will be on hand with $25 gift cards for donors.
For more information about the festival, email [email protected].