Skip to content

Wheels & Walk Festival returns to Edwardsville; encouraging students, residents to hit the trails

The Wheels & Walk Festival is off and running for a second year of bringing area college students and Edwardsville residents together to spend time on the trails, benefit a good cause, and enjoy some food, games and music.

The Wheels & Walk Festival is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. The event is being hosted by the Campus to Community Committee, which includes student, faculty and resident representatives of the City of Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Lewis and Clark Community College.

The festival will kick off with an approximately 2.5-mile hike on a Madison County Transit trail from two locations – SIUE and a new site for 2023, the Edwardsville campus of Lewis and Clark Community College. How participants traverse the trails – walk, bike, skateboard or other means – is up to them. The trail hike will lead to the Ironworks business development, in the 2300 block of Plum Street, where food and games will be available. Live music will be provided by Matt Taul from noon to 2 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to participate, and that’s a key goal of the festival, said Chad Verbais, SIUE’s assistant director of Supplemental Education/Learning Support Services and the Campus to Community Committee chairman. “We want to show students from SIUE and Lewis and Clark, as well as area residents, how easy it is to access the trails from multiple points and use them not just for recreation but to travel to different areas as well,” he said. “We feel it is important for people to really see how interconnected our City is due to both the MCT and City trails.”

Another important feature of the festival is a food drive to benefit the Glen-Ed Pantry and the SIUE Cougar Cupboard. Participants are encouraged to bring an item to donate at either starting point on the route from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations will be accepted at Ironworks at any time during the event. As an added incentive, the group that has the most donations will win the use of Global Brew Tap House’s Barrel Room for two hours with a full appetizer buffet spread for up to 35 people at a mutually determined date and time. Plus, the first 200 participants to drop off a donation to either pantry will receive a $5 food voucher for use at the festival. Participants are asked to register on the event website to help the organizers prepare for the turnout: www.cityofedwardsville.com/681/Wheels-Walk-Festival

The website also includes suggested food pantry donations and route maps. Parking is available at each starting point:

  • The SIUE Technology and Management Center, 245 S. Research Drive, Edwardsville;
  • The Lewis and Clark Community College N.O. Nelson Complex, 600 Troy Road, Edwardsville;

In addition to the City of Edwardsville and the two colleges, sponsors include Ironworks businesses Global Brew Tap House & Lounge, Chicken Salad Chick, Waxing the City, Nautical Bowls and Brick + Bramble.

More information about the festival is available by emailing dgerber@cityofedwardsville.com.

Leave a Comment