Bloomington hosts free snow cone event to promote community enhancement

Image courtesy of the City of Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Bloomington just hosted its second “Grab A Cone” event to promote community enhancement.

Along with free snow cones from Kona Ice and bounce houses, several Community Enhancement Inspectors were on hand to discuss safety.

“We have always been reactive, and now we’re going to be proactive,” said Linda Webner, Director of Community Enhancement. “In order to do that, we need to be able to educate the community on what that ‘proactive’ looks like.”

The Department of Community Enhancement is responsible for inspecting safety and code violations in people’s homes, such as lead paint, obstructed sidewalks or overgrown yards. Visitors to the event were led through different stations, and at the end of them, they got a ticket for a free snow cone.

“We wanted to make it family-friendly,” Webner said. “That’s why we included the bounce house, having fire and police here to do demonstrations, and then, of course, who doesn’t love a snow cone at the end?”

Webner said the events have been very successful.

“We plan on having a whole lot more,” Webner said. “Definitely fun for the community to be able to come out and have fun, and get that education as well.”

There will be one more “Grab A Cone” event on Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The final event will take place at Tipton Park.