Batavia residents see Windmill City Festival as a chance to celebrate community

Temperatures soared to 92 degrees on Saturday, the line at the Koconuts Shave Ice food truck was long and those who already had their frozen treats ate fast as the ice quickly liquified.

But heat and melting treats didn’t stop Ashley Lilley, her husband, Beau, and nearly 2-year-old daughter Brinley from enjoying Batavia’s Windmill City Festival as much as possible.

“I have the cherry Coke shave ice,” Ashley said. “It’s a must-have today.”

The festival features music, activities and food.

Beau was having strawberry and coconut with cream, as they sat in the shade under a small tent.

“We went to the beer tent, we enjoyed ourselves in the shade and now we’re here enjoying ourselves with the shave ice,” Ashley said, as her dish continued to melt into a red puddle.

Danae Bartke said she and her daughter, Dana, 6, enjoyed the assortment of cool dessert-type items on a hot day.

Dana enjoyed the swinging boat ride at the carnival and the games.

The little girl held a pink bear and a pink and white penguin, prizes she won in a dart game and by choosing a yellow duck that corresponded to a prize.

“As a parent, I really liked this because it was in limited play, so they won,” Bartke said.

Former Batavia resident Jane Sells rode her bike from North Aurora to the festival.

“I like that they expanded since the early days when it was originally called Boo Boo Days, and downtown (merchants) would bring out all their damaged merchandise,” Sells said.

“And as Batavia progressed into the Riverwalk ... we changed it to Windmill Fest.”

Prairie Gymnastics Club, one of the businesses participating in the festival, hosted a young gymnast showing off her skills.

“This is a demonstration of tip overs on bars and walks on the beam,” said Lily Meger, one of the coaches at the club. “I coach team, some recreational and tumbling classes, too.”

Jayne Falls of Batavia also braved the heat to participate in the festival.

“I love the fact that our Batavians come together to celebrate everything,” Falls said. “Especially our heroes, our veterans, and our police.”

This was the first time Evelyn and Julio Vega of Elgin came to the Windmill Fest.

They stopped at the Depot Museum, enjoyed a beef brisket from the Midwest BBQ food truck.

“We wanted to do something different, get out of the house,” Evelyn said. “And we’ve never been here before. ... We’ve always drove through Batavia, but never actually stopped.”

Veronica Torrez and her sister Jackie Albert run the Frosty Dogs food truck, featuring hot dogs and cold treats.

Albert said they used to have two different food trucks – she sold hot dogs, her sister sold ice cream – but they were always ending up at the same festivals.

“And we always asked, ‘Can you put us next to each other? We’re siblings,’” Albert said. “And during the off season, we said, ‘Why not do it together? I’ll do my savory food, we’ll do your ice cream and we’ll name it Frosty Dogs.’”

The logo, a buff-colored smiling Pomeranian painted on the side of the truck, is named for her late – and beloved – pom, Sunny, who lived to be 14.

“Right after he passed, I promised that I would honor him somehow,” Albert said.

The festival continues on Sunday beginning with the Whirl 5K race along the Fox River at 8 a.m. The event includes a new stroller division and one-mile race for kids 10 and under.

Also on Sunday, the Big Wheels/Trike Race is for ages 2-8 who bring their big wheels or tricycles to compete.

The Batavia Mothers’ Club Foundation is hosting the Diaper Derby, a crawling race for babies ages 6-15 months.

A Community Craft Fair will be open noon to 5 p.m.

A full schedule is available online at www.windmillcityfest.org.