By Kelly White
The City of Palos Hills is encouraging its residents to get outdoors and to enjoy everything the community has to offer.
Organized by the Palos Hills Resource & Recreation Department, the city hosted its third annual Picnic in the Park at Bennett Park, 10801 S. Roberts Road, on Saturday, June 17.
“The City of Palos Hills was looking forward to our third annual Bennett Park Picnic in the Park to celebrate the beginning of summer events and activities in the City of Palos Hills,” Palos Hills Mayor Jerry Bennett said. “We invited all residents to join us for a fun time and to enjoy all the amenities Bennett Park offers for all ages.”
The free event was originally named Bennett Park Bash in 2021. In 2022, the name was changed to Picnic in the Park.
As Bennett said, residents were able to come out for a day of fun, enjoy a picnic lunch of hotdogs and potato chips, courtesy of the city. The hotdogs were grilled by members of the Palos Hills Public Works Department.
But the fun did not stop there. Attendees were able to listen to live music performed by acoustic singer/songwriter, Dave Rudolf, play games and more. Inflatable bounce houses were also available for children, along with a cornhole tournament for adults.
“The city is proud of Bennett Park, named after our mayor, and this event is a way for the mayor and city to give back to the community,” Kristin Violante, Resource & Recreation Commissioner for the City of Palos Hills, said.
The 30-acre park area was formerly known as Pleasure Lake. The Palos Hills City Council approved that the park be renamed in honor of the city’s mayor during a meeting held in the spring of 2020.
Bennett has served as the city’s mayor for more than 40 years. He is an avid supporter of inclusive outdoor recreation and thoughtful design. Bennet’s dream for the park was to be a destination for everyone in the city to enjoy the outdoors and be able to play together on an all-inclusive playground.
The park has already received a national award for its all-inclusive playground, a playground that is intentionally designed so that children of all ages and ability levels can play, be challenged, and have fun together. The playground is accessible to all age groups along with inclusion of those with special needs.
Aside from the all-inclusive playground, there are also a peaceful a walking trails, a beautiful wooden bridge, pavilion, stone amphitheater, play pod areas, benches and tables for picnicking under pavilion.
With plenty to do to stay active, Bennett Park also offers multiple elements geared toward nature-lovers with wooden walkways, a waterfall, pollinator gardens, beautiful landscaping, nature paths, nature-based play areas and trail-based play to keep kids both outdoors and educated simultaneously.
With beautiful weather on Saturday, the city’s Picnic in the Park highlighted exactly everything the park has to offer.
“It was a great way to celebrate a great park with city residents,” Violante said.
And, residents agreed.
“We live right around the block,” Marzena Galvan, of Palos Hills, said. “This was so much fun with our family and with our neighbors.”
