“It’s basically a fun community celebration where we bring together different food vendors and we have a band and we bring out families and business people just for a night of fun and food,” said president of the MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce, Lori Higgins.
“We have a wide range of different types of food and food vendors, we have everyone from Kwik Trip and Costco and Subway to Naf Naf Grill, to Dixie Blue, to Broadway Pizza, Cherry Berry Ice Cream, so we’ve got sweet and savory, and hot and cold, and something for everybody,” she said.
The MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce along with Toys for Joy hosts the fundraiser every year. With over twenty two vendors, the event brings in about $10,000 for both organizations to split. President of Toys for Joy, Michael Hunstad said the event has been a great help for the non-profit.
“It’s been a huge benefit for us because it’s one, a way for us to get in front of the community when it’s not Christmas time. Two, it also helps us raise funds so that we can supply food and toys to those in Anoka County during the holidays,” he said.
For both Higgins and Hunstad, there was a new vendor in particular they were excited to try.
“So, I’m looking forward to Naf Naf Grill because this is the first year we’ve had them and I have not yet gone to their establishment yet so I can’t wait for that,” Higgins said.
Naf Naf is a modern spin on Middle Eastern cuisine.
“We have Middle Eastern food, we have our rice bowls with our chicken shawarma, we have some chopped salad, cabbage and then we have three kinds of sauces,” explained general manager of Naf Naf, Shawnna Haugen.
On top of a new vendor, the Summer Food Fest also has some new entertainment.
“This year, we’ve got Hitchville here, what we’ve done is extended it 4:30 to 7 p.m., now it’s 4:30 to 9 p.m. with the band playing from 6:30 to 9 p.m. to make it a true community event,” Hunstad said. “And one thing that we’ve been able to do in moving the event to July versus in June is we’re able to do both the Spring Lake Park and the Blaine parades to be able to promote the event and get away from that end of the school year feeling to make it a true community festival.”
Even though the event is full of food and fun, Hunstad keeps in mind the reason it’s important for him.
“I volunteered about 16, 17 years ago, and the first guy I helped out to his car, we pushed a grocery cart of his stuff out, he was just in tears,” he said. “His wife had passed away giving birth to their first child and he said, ‘without you guys, there wouldn’t be Christmas’ gave me the biggest hug, since then I’ve been hooked, I mean, how can you not? That right there is just hard to forget, and that’s why we put so much time into it, it’s such a great committee that we have, of everybody within the real estate fields, we’ve got other community partners that are involved and without the Anoka county community, we wouldn’t be able to do this.”
