Champlin families can gear up for free inflatables, a rock-climbing wall, and mini donuts when the city's Family Fun Fest returns to Andrews Park on August 30, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event, presented in partnership with Riverway Church, offers free activities and free food alongside more practical help for parents facing the costs of a new school year.
According to the City of Champlin, the festival will include giant inflatables, balloon artists, face painting, snow cones, cotton candy, and entertainment, all free of charge, with details also posted at familyfunfest.com. To keep traffic manageable, the city is offering free overflow parking with shuttle service running from the Egan building throughout the day, according to the same city post.
A Food Drive and Backpack Giveaway Built Into the Fun
Beyond the bounce houses and balloon animals, this year's festival folds in two forms of concrete support for local households. Local food pantry CROSS Food Shelf will collect shelf-stable donations such as pasta, peanut butter, canned meats, and cereal to support families facing food insecurity, per the research notes tied to the event. CROSS Food Shelf serves residents across Champlin, Rogers, and the surrounding northern Hennepin County communities.
The festival also includes a dedicated school supply pick-up table offering free backpacks and classroom essentials, timed to land just before Minnesota public schools reopen for the fall term. Coming a little more than two weeks before the new school year, the giveaway gives parents a break on back-to-school costs at the same event where their kids are climbing rock walls and getting their faces painted.
From Bounce-House Day to Full Community Festival
Family Fun Fest has grown considerably from its origins. The gathering started as the city's annual Jump It Up bounce-house day at Andrews Park before Riverway Church partnered with Champlin in 2024 to co-host and expand it into a larger, multi-activity festival, per the research notes. Riverway Church had previously run its own community festival at Champlin Park High School in September 2023 before relocating to Andrews Park the following year in partnership with the city.
Past iterations of the event have also featured hot dog and hamburger baskets, mini donuts, and a big-tent screening of a Minnesota Vikings game, according to the City of Champlin. It is unclear from available details whether this year's festival will include the Vikings broadcast, though the free snacks and low-cost food baskets remain a hallmark of the day.
Andrews Park's Role as a Community Hub
Andrews Park, located at 7200 117th Ave N, is Champlin's primary recreation hub, home to a splash pad, athletic fields, tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, winter ice rinks, and the weekly Champlin Farmers Market, according to Family Fun Twin Cities. The park has also served as a shuttle hub for other major city events; Champlin designated it as a key pickup site transporting attendees to riverfront festivities at Mississippi Crossings during the June Father Hennepin Festival.
The free shuttle loop from the Egan building at 11611 Business Park Blvd N mirrors that same transit strategy, giving attendees an alternative to parking directly at the park. Champlin, a Mississippi River suburb roughly 20 miles northwest of Minneapolis, has about 23,294 residents with a median age of 40.2, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Residents planning yard work around festival weekend should also note that Champlin enforces a citywide odd-even lawn sprinkling ordinance through Labor Day, restricting watering to odd calendar days for odd-numbered addresses, according to local reporting. It is a small seasonal reminder tucked into an otherwise lighthearted end-of-summer send-off, one that pairs free family fun with a bit of practical support for households heading into the school year.
