GREEN BAY – A “Big Event” spanning 35 years offered free family fun for the community on Sept. 21 at Heritage Hill State Park.

Founded by late Encompass champion Carol Bush, “It is just a day with hands-on interactive exhibits designed to allow kids to explore, play and discover,” explained Alexa Priddy the Encompass director of fund development.

The event offered over 45 exhibitors.

“They’re community nonprofits, they’re corporations and businesses, all doing interactive hands-on activities for kids at their booths. We have food trucks; we have live entertainment; we have featured guests that are in Compass Zone, like the UW-Green Bay cheerleaders,” Priddy said.

“We have a lot of different costume characters. We have Bruiser from the Green Bay Blizzard. Just lots of fun, interactive activities for kids to just learn new skills, learn new activities, and there’s a lot of make and take, so they get to take home stuff that they have created.

“So, the big thing new this year is that the event is free. We were able to lean on our donors and sponsors to help raise all the funds for this fundraiser through donations and sponsorships, and able to make the event free then for the community.

“So, there’s no barrier for any family or any kid.”

According to Priddy, Encompass has been in Green Bay 105 years.

The organization has been under several different names but landed on Encompass in the early 1990s.

“Encompass is a nonprofit. So, this is our largest fundraiser of the year, and it helps support our tuition assistance programs to families, as well as our child and family advocate program. And that’s all designed to make childcare accessible and affordable to families,” Priddy said.

For information on next year’s event, visit www.encompasswi.org/news-and-events/big-event.