Jones Park in East St. Louis will fill with music, food vendors and free carnival rides on Saturday, October 3, as the Emma L. Wilson King Foundation hosts the 6th annual EMMAFEST, a free family festival built around a bigger mission: reviving a fountain that has sat dry since around 1980. The daylong event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and includes everything from horseback riding for children to a 5K morning walk/run, according to the seed facts behind this report.
The centerpiece of the foundation's work is the three-tier Lily Pond fountain, a structure built during the FDR/WPA era in the early 20th century before it was drained and shuttered decades later, according to KSDK. The East St. Louis Park District granted the foundation trusteeship over the fountain so it could lead an estimated $2 million restoration effort through private fundraising and grants, the station reported. Organizers describe the fountain as the largest of its kind in the St. Louis region, and community members can support the project by purchasing commemorative bricks, with donations toward the restoration listed as tax-deductible, per St. Louis Magazine.
A Festival Born to Fund a Fountain's Return
EMMAFEST began on October 9, 2021, when roughly 1,000 attendees turned out at Jones Park following a parade led by the East St. Louis Senior High School Flyers marching band, according to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. SIUE partnered with the foundation from the start through its Successful Communities Collaborative and Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center, folding university students into festival logistics and broader community revitalization work, the university noted. That inaugural festival was designed to pair free family entertainment with public awareness of the park restoration push.
This year's parade steps off at 11:00 a.m. from 33rd and State streets and concludes at Argonne Drive, featuring area high school marching bands, per the seed facts. Grand marshals for 2026 are senior citizens ranging from ages 95 to 100-plus, recognized for their longevity, family legacies and contributions to the community. The parade route ends where the festival itself unfolds, at Jones Park along the Argonne Drive war memorials.
Jones Park's Own Layered History
Jones Park dates to 1913, when the local Jones family donated farmland to the East St. Louis Park District, and it is also home to the East St. Louis Soldiers Memorial, dedicated on November 11, 1924, according to Landmarks Illinois. That granite memorial originally honored 103 local residents lost in World War I alongside veterans of the Revolutionary, Civil and Spanish-American wars. Once restored, organizers envision the Lily Pond fountain as more than a landmark: a STEM learning venue for area high school students, with planned educational opportunities in horticulture, landscape architecture, water gardening, environmental science and hands-on learning experiences, per the seed facts, alongside its future as an eco-tourism draw. Reopening of the fountain is anticipated in spring 2027.
Free Rides, Food and More Than 30 Vendors
Admission to EMMAFEST remains free to the public, with electronic rides, bounce houses, motorized train rides through the park, face painting, live performers on the main stage and horseback riding for children all included. Past festivals have expanded free ride offerings considerably; the 4th annual event in October 2024 featured a 45-foot ferris wheel, according to a foundation post. More than 30 vendors are expected this year, offering food, community resources and services alongside health and social service organizations.
Vendor spaces cost $100 and include a 10-by-10-foot tent, a six-foot table, two chairs and pre-event setup handled by foundation staff, according to the Emma L. Wilson King Foundation. Electric generators are explicitly prohibited on-site. Vendor registration is available at emmafest.org, and inquiries can be made by calling (314) 944-2652.
A Volunteer-Run Foundation With a Broader Mission
The foundation was established in 2009 in memory of Emma L. Wilson King, a lifelong East St. Louis resident and mother of 12 whose personal values centered on education, community service and local gardening, according to Illinois General Assembly records. Her children formed the foundation to turn her legacy into a formal nonprofit. Tax filings from fiscal year 2026 show the organization operates with zero salaried employees and held $684,136 in total net assets, per Cause IQ — a volunteer-run structure that relies on committees, donations and grant funding.
Beyond EMMAFEST, the same foundation provides annual college scholarships to graduating seniors across Metro East School Districts 187, 188 and 189, and distributed 211 new winter coats across 12 area schools in 2025, according to the same Cause IQ filing. EMMAFEST 2026 draws support from corporate sponsors including Grey Eagle Distributors, Bi-State Ride on Metro and Ameren Illinois, as well as public backing from regional agencies including the Metro East Park & Recreation District and the Illinois Lottery.
Families planning to attend can find the festival at 2920 Argonne Drive in East St. Louis, with the 5K morning walk/run also scheduled for the same day at Jones Park. Organizers continue framing the event as both a celebration and a fundraising vehicle, inviting families, children and the entire community to take part while the push continues to bring the long-idle fountain back to life ahead of its targeted spring 2027 reopening.
