Moldova Consulate To Host Inaugural Sports Fest In Plainfield, Village Board Votes

PLAINFIELD, IL — Settlers' Park will be imbued with Moldovan culture Aug. 8 as the Consulate General of the Republic of Moldova hosts its inaugural sports festival.

The Village Board unanimously green-lit the Plainfield Moldova Sports Festival, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8, at its July 20 meeting. The fest expands on a race the consulate hosted last summer in Naperville.

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The festival will feature food and alcohol, music and athletics, including pilates, yoga, football, volleyball and a tug-of-war contest. Spanning Settlers' Park and the adjacent vacant property, areas will also be dedicated to football, volleyball and a family zone.

The idea is to start the festival with sports and follow the matches with food, wine and community, Consul General of the Republic of Moldova in Chicago Anton Lungu said at the Village Board meeting.

"The idea of the sport event was not only limited to sports but to bring something from back home and share it with the community here, with the local residents," he said. "It's practically something that is done back home in the villages. ... I'm happy that this is an opportunity not only to share parts of our heritage, but it's also an element to consolidate the community."

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Wine, in particular, will be featured since it is an integral part of Moldova's identity, Lungu said.

"Moldova is the 15th biggest exporter of wine in the world, so that's one of the elements we want to bring to this event," he said.

The festival is expected to draw between 150 and 200 people. The Chicagoland area — namely Plainfield, Naperville, Aurora and Joliet — is home to the largest population of Moldovans in the country, according to Lungu.

"This is important because Plainfield has become home to a dynamic and growing Moldovan community," he said. "There are a lot of kids ... and this is also to show to the young, to the first generation of Moldavan-Americans how things are done back home."