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NILES — A day of free fun is coming to the Niles community this weekend as a local church hosts a family-friendly event.

Community Evangelical Free Church, 120 E. Bertrand Road, Niles, will host a free Family Fun Fest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The event will feature bounce houses, a water slide, carnival games, crafts, prize drawings and a children’s Bible story. The event will also have a prayer tent to be used by people of all ages.

A local Boy Scouts troop will be at the event selling food and beverages.

According to Betsy Hickok, children’s ministry director, the church decided to host the Family Fun Fest in lieu of its usual vacation Bible school program.

“This year, because the COVID-19 pandemic is still happening, we decided to go with the Family Fun Fest because it’s outside,” she said.

“When we started planning, we weren’t sure what [COVID-19] restrictions would be like, so we decided to, instead of VBS, host a one-day, huge festival that would be outdoors,” added Andrea Winfield, co-director of children’s ministry.

Both Winfield and Hickok said they would encourage the community to attend Saturday’s event, believing it will be fun for all.

“We really want to invite as many people as possible,” Winfield said. “We want to make sure that everyone knows that this is not just an event for our church, this is an event for the greater Niles community.”