Elgin News Digest: Food bank holding pop-up mobile market Saturday at ECC; two Elgin townhomes badly damaged in early morning fire; Rock the Fox being held this weekend in Carpentersville

Food bank holding pop-up mobile market Saturday at ECC

Northern Illinois Food Bank will be distributing free groceries from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive.

The pop-up mobile market will be held at Elgin Community College. Two semi-trucks of food will be unloaded and distributed by volunteers at the pop-up mobile market event, a news release said.

Anyone who needs groceries is welcome, organizers said. No ID, proof of income or referral is needed, and food will be distributed through a drive-through setup.

“Inflation, rising food costs and ending of the emergency government SNAP benefits are driving 450,000 neighbors per month to seek assistance from the Northern Illinois Food Bank pantries and programs,” organizers said.

For more information about finding free grocery mobile markets, go to SolveHungerToday.org.

Two Elgin townhomes badly damaged in early morning fire

Two families were left homeless Saturday when a fire spread through their townhome complex in the 300 block of Belmont Street, according to the Elgin Fire Department.

Firefighters were called the building about 6:15 a.m. on a report of a kitchen fire, and arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the three-unit residential structure, a news release said.

No one was injured although a person was treated on the scene for an unrelated medical condition.

With damage estimated at $300,000, two of the townhomes were deemed uninhabitable but residents allowed to return to the third, the release said.

The Elgin Fire Department Fire Investigation Team is investigating the fire’s cause.

Rock the Fox being held this weekend in Carpentersville

Century Lodge 492 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the village of Carpentersville are hosting the free Rock the Fox music fest Friday through Sunday, Aug. 4-6.

Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Food and drinks will be sold.

Among the bands scheduled to play are Kashmir, a Led Zeppelin tribute band; Rico, a Santana tribute band; the Pat Capone Band; and Lyn Skynyrd.

For a full lineup and more information, go to www.nkcchamber.com/rock-the-fox/.

World of Faeries festival to be held in South Elgin

The World of Faeries Healing Earth Festival will be held from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, in Vasa Park, 35W217 Route 31, South Elgin.

The gathering will feature live music, tea times, a sword show, bubble fun, a living statue and a vendor village, according to the event website.

For more information, including ticket prices, see theworldoffaeries.com/home.

School District U-46 holding job fair this Saturday in Elgin

School District U-46 will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 5, at the U-46 Welcome Center, 1019 E. Chicago St., Elgin.

Same-day interviews will be available for part- and full-time vacancies, including teaching, groundskeeping, bus driving and other positions, a U-46 social media release said.

To learn more about job openings in U-46, see u-46.org/careers.

South Elgin groundbreaking set for public safety center

South Elgin will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, for its new Public Safety Center at the southwest corner of State and Water streets, across from South Elgin Village Hall.

The preliminary budget for the project, approved by the village board in November, is about $20 million, according to village staff. It’s to be built at southeast corner of La Fox and State streets and will include a meeting room for South Elgin Village Board meetings.

Communications Coordinator Craig Pierce said the center will include the police station, a meeting/training facility and a veterans plaza.

The station will be funded with $7.8 million already in hand, cash reserves and a bond sale of up to about $9 million, city officials said. The debt will be repaid with gaming tax revenue and possibly with sales tax money.

Back to School Bash planned for Friday at Panton Mill Park

A Back To School Bash will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, in Panton Mill Park, 9 N. Water St. in South Elgin.

The event will feature a presentation from Dave DiNaso’s Traveling World of Reptiles from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. and Leonardo Music from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. There also will be a face painter, inflatables, booths from community groups and concessions for sale.

The night will conclude with a free outdoor screening at 8:15 p.m. of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”

For more information, call 847-742-5780.