Bike the Parks and Chow Down

The is gearing up for some outdoor food and fun with its first Bike the Parks event on August 5.

"We were kind of brainstorming last summer about a new event that we could bring to Frankfort, something that would incorporate riding bikes," said Stacy Proper, park district superintendent of recreation.

The event will kick off with salad at and continue with a bike ride along the Old Plank Trail path to for the main part of the dinner.

"We initially had thought of doing just an adult-only kind of bike ride, like a progressive dinner kind of thing for adults, where they would bike ride to different restaurants," Proper said. "But there really wasn't anything along the path, we were trying to keep it along the path, and everything's pretty much in Downtown Frankfort. So then we just thought it might be a good idea to make it a family event where we have dinner at the parks, where we brought the dinner out to the parks and kind of made it a progressive dinner that way, starting off at one park having the salad, head to the next park for the dinner, and then the final park is the dessert and the after-party kind of thing."

The day will finish with dessert at Kohlhagen Park, followed by field games and relay races for adults and an inflatable play area for kids. Meals at each stop will be picnic-style, so participants are encouraged to bring a blanket to sit on while they eat in the park. Food for the event will include hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, garden salad, pasta salad, and desserts.

While Bike the Parks ends at 6 p.m., Proper encouraged attendees to stick around and enjoy some of the park district's other weekend programming.

"The reason we offered it on a Sunday from three to six, we were trying to back it up to the , so that following our event, the families can continue the fun and bring it to the concert," she said.

However, the community's reaction to the event has been underwhelming so far. As of July 27, proper said, "We currently do not have anyone registered for the event. So there is a possibility that it could be cancelled."

However, she's enthusiastic about the event and hopes that it will catch on eventually.

"If it doesn't work out this year, we'll definitely give it another try next year and hope that word spreads and people sign up for it," Proper said.

The registration deadline for Bike the Parks is August 2, so if you want in and don't want to see the event cancelled, sign up soon online or at the . Registration is $9 per person. The event begins at 3 p.m. at . For more information, contact the Frankfort Park District at (815) 469-9400.

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