After bringing families to East End Park all summer long in 2024, the Summer Fun Series has returned for another slate of events, food and music in 2025.

“A different local non-profit organization, civic group, or business adopts a Thursday evening to offer free, family-friendly activities or entertainment. We’ve been working hard to have a food truck or other food offering so people can get off work, grab the family, and head to the park for an evening of fun. The additional traffic helps to support our Farmers Market vendors,” Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Team Member Kim Beebe stated.

On June 19, the series was renewed as indie songwriter and guitar duo Patchouli and Terra Guitarra played music at the park. The Lions Club sponsored and cooked food while the Ellsworth Public Library shared sponsorship, bringing arts and crafts.

“With each year of hosting the series, [we] see the number of families coming to the park for the events increasing. It’s heartwarming to see neighbors meeting neighbors and kids playing together,” Beebe stated.

Four events remain for the 2025 Summer Fun Series. St. Croix Valley Opera performer Keegan Foster will head to the park July 3 in an event sponsored by YB Urban? and CCF Bank on July 3. Art in the Park will be Aug. 14 sponsored by Brush Strokes, Renaissance in the Park with a storybook garden and medieval adventure will be Sept. 11 sponsored by Kingdom of the Shires and the Ellsworth Public Library and Turner Breg will perform Gen-X music Sept. 18 sponsored by the American Family-Jared Hines Agency. A June 12 kickoff event was set to be hosted by the Village with a dunk tank, sno cones and other summer fun, but was cancelled due to the weather. Beebe said they hope to reschedule to a later date.

The event was designed to run alongside the Ellsworth Farmers Market on Thursdays from 4-7 p.m. spanning from June through September (except June 26 and Aug. 7). The market has homegrown/cooked food and handcrafted items.