What began as a simple desire to help families spend more meaningful time outdoors blossomed Saturday into a community-wide celebration of nature, wellness and connection at Lake Katherine Nature Center.
Families gathered for the inaugural Family Nature + Wellness Fest, a morning filled with guided hikes, movement classes, mindfulness workshops, children’s activities and live music designed to bring parents, children and grandparents together in the natural beauty of one of the Southland’s most treasured outdoor spaces.
Chelsea Hanson, founder of the Family Outdoor Adventure Club and a Palos Park mother of two boys under age 5, said the festival represented much more than a community event.
“What inspired me most was watching families in our community hunger for meaningful, intentional ways to connect with nature and with each other,” Hanson said. “I wasn’t finding enough opportunities close to home that were truly designed with young children in mind.”
That realization led Hanson to launch the Family Outdoor Adventure Club, which has spent the past several years organizing free hikes and nature meetups for families with young children. Along the way, she developed partnerships with local educators, wellness professionals and nature leaders who shared her vision.
Saturday’s festival brought many of those connections together for the first time.
“We’re so excited to have brought together such an incredible group of partners for our inaugural festival to support families in our community,” Hanson said.
Presented by the Family Outdoor Adventure Club in partnership with Building Bright Futures, The Do Good Movement and Gateway Presents, the event featured a packed schedule of activities while allowing families to explore at their own pace.
“Families had the freedom to chart their own course from a full lineup of programming,” Hanson said.
The morning opened with a Family Five Senses Nature Hike led by Hanson and Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters. Families then spread throughout the grounds to participate in seven wellness sessions, including family yoga, prenatal-friendly Pilates, tai chi, stroller fitness classes, a family obstacle course, mindfulness workshops and family affirmation activities.
Seven drop-in activity areas remained busy throughout the morning with nature crafts, turtle learning and races, sensory play stations, story times, a baby and toddler nook and other hands-on experiences.
Meanwhile, more than 15 vendors filled the Nature + Wellness Market, offering everything from artisan goods and wellness resources to food and coffee.
The event reflected Hanson’s own lifelong connection to health and wellness. A former track and cross-country athlete and competitive boxer, she later opened a Pilates, yoga and wellness studio in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood before moving to the southwest suburbs to raise her family.
Today, she continues to practice Pilates and tai chi while hiking and trail running with her family whenever possible.
Perhaps most influential was her completion of a Nature Therapy Guide certification through the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy, an experience Hanson described as transformative.
“It was a life-changing experience and has given me the tools to support myself, my family and others in connecting more deeply and joyfully with nature,” she said.
That philosophy could be seen throughout Saturday’s event as children explored the trails, parents chatted with community organizations and families gathered on the lawn for a picnic and a live performance by Miss Angie’s Music.
The festival was carefully designed around the needs of families, especially those with young children.
“This truly is a curation of all of my favorite wellness providers and nature program leaders in our community, ones that I know will bring so much expertise, talent and care to the families who attend,” Hanson said.
Her hope, she said, was that families would leave with more than just memories from a fun morning outdoors.
“I hope that participating families have fun exploring nature and movement together, that they feel well supported and centered in the program design, with lots of options for little ones and caregivers to choose from,” Hanson said. “And I hope they leave feeling more aware of the organizations in our community that they can lean on in their parenting and family journeys.”
As the event concluded with music, picnicking and children continuing to play on the festival lawn, Hanson was already looking toward the future.
“This is just the beginning,” she said. “We’re already looking forward to making this an annual tradition and growing it each year.”
She also expressed gratitude to the organizations, sponsors, vendors and volunteers who helped make the inaugural event possible.
“I want to thank our incredible partners, Lake Katherine, Building Bright Futures, The Do Good Movement and Gateway Presents, as well as our sponsors, vendors and the dozens of volunteers and wellness professionals who gave their time to make this morning possible,” Hanson said.
Judging by the steady crowds and enthusiastic participation throughout the morning, the community appeared ready to embrace that vision for years to come.
