Yeti Fest carved out winter fun for all ages
The yeti made several appearances in Rockton, Illinois during the 2026 Yeti Fest.
Rockton had another visit from the yeti, as he made a memorable arrival on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The yeti checked out trees in Settler's Park as he was spotted by Deputy Chief of Police Justin Jobst.
The return of the yeti marked four days of winter fun for all ages. In its 11th year, Village of Rockton Community Promotions Coordinator Monique Weaver served as the event chair.
In Settlers Park, the Legion of Snow Sculptors worked to carve out the most eye-catching and creative designs.
Sculptor Gruezi greeted visitors in Settler's Park and explained that the name Gruezi means “Hello” in German.
His creation was a detailed "Oscar the Grouch" from Sesame Street.
Gruezi joined the frozen artistry of the Skupien brothers from Roscoe, who call themselves Vikings In Black, and their friends, The Slackers, Snow Rippers, Snow Sultans, and The Gnomeskulls.
The Legion of Snow Sculptors Exhibition has remained an integral part of Yeti Fest since the event’s second year.
Throughout the four days, the yeti was found in various places. One of the yeti's stops was at Talcott Free Library to take in a yeti story hour.
Jason Hussong and his team of Doggie Development Academy's High Flying Huskies Sled Dog team gave demonstrations on Friday evening and Saturday. The team, guided by Hussong, impressively picked up speed on the bike path and grassy sections of Settlers Park with a wheeled dog-powered sled.
Following the demonstrations the team warmly greeted guests.
Hussong and his wife started working with the teams in 2009.
All four days offered the opportunity to take part in a Scavenger hunt. Each person used a scavenger hunt sheet to search for yetis in 28 participating locations listed on the back. Scavenger hunters could do the hunt all at once or over the four days, during business hours. After a card was completed, it was turned in to the Village Hall where prizes were awarded.
Saturday drew the largest crowds all day. Many of the previous activities continued while the new “Yeti Fest Treat Trail” proved to be a popular addition. At each of the seven locations, including new business Prairie Street Mercantile, cookies, yeti themed truffles, and numerous flavors of ice cream offerings from the Dairyhaus, assured that buckets were filled with a variety of treats.
Local businesses were open and offered yeti specials on eating, drinking, shopping, or inside activities each day.
Artwork was on display in stores, created by students at Rockton Grade School. Macktown Living History featured detailed coloring pages on their Facebook page.
Inside Inkwell Books and Threads, c0-owner Dan Enderle led everyone in the craft of making a snowball out of yarn.
Local author April Graves hosted a book reading at Inkwell. Graves is the author of the “Meet the Hot Dogs” children's book series. Guests at Inkwell had a chance to meet the main character in the books, Pip, and to have their photo taken with Graves and Pip.
The Old Stone Church hosted their third annual bake sale.
Adults found their groove on Saturday night at Fibs, where a Yeti Dance party
served as warm up to the Pub Crawl, where visitors wore their best onesie to visit each stop on the crawl.
At each location, pub crawl participants were able to have a card stamped to be turned in for a chance to win a prize basket.
Ye Olde Pub jumped into the full Yeti Fest spirit by setting up a photo backdrop.
All of the events that happened at no cost were made possible by these generous sponsors: John and Sheryl Peterson of Peterson & Co. Homes, C.E.S., Ink, Civil Engineering Services, and S&H Nursery,
Yeti Fest was based on an idea by former Rockton Planning and Development Administrator, Tricia Diduch.
Yeti Fest is described as “a festival where the abominable snow people of Rockton and their friends come out to enjoy a mixture of winter-related activities, and is a celebration of all things winter, and of course, it all revolves around yetis.”
The tagline of Yeti Fest rang true again in 2026 - "Yeti Fest: for the abominable snow people and their friends.”
