GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For more than two decades, families have packed the halls of Gilda's Club Grand Rapids for Noogiefest, an annual Halloween celebration filled with costumes, games and community spirit. This year, however, the event carried added meaning as Christina Rosloniec, who helped launch Noogiefest in 2004, and her family prepared to step back after two decades of involvement.
Watch Keenan Penn II's report in the video player below:
The annual event gives children and families a chance to celebrate Halloween while connecting with the Gilda's Club community.
Christina Rosloniec and her husband Michael Rosloniec have helped lead the event for years, watching it grow alongside their own family.
"When I first started doing this party, our children were literally in strollers and diapers," Rosloniec said. "Then they got a little older and could run around just like all of these kids. Then they got old enough and were volunteering every year."
Gilda's Club Grand Rapids provides free support services for people and families navigating cancer and grief.
"These kids that were little running around are now bringing their own children," Rosloniec said.
Among those attending Saturday was Mary-Jo Miedema, who spent the afternoon celebrating with her granddaughters. For Miedema, though, Gilda's Club represents much more than a place to celebrate Halloween.
Miedema, a multiple-time cancer survivor, said she turned to Gilda's Club after being diagnosed with cancer for a second time.
"When I was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, I came to Gilda's and joined one of the support groups," she said. "Through that support group, I just had amazing friendships. It was a phenomenal support."
She said the welcoming atmosphere is what makes the organization so special.
"Gilda's is not a sad place. It addresses sad things, but it is not a sad place," Miedema said.
For the Rosloniecs, this year's celebration also marked their final Noogiefest as organizers.
“It just seemed like it was probably the right time after two decades,” Christina Rosloniec said.
They hope someone else will now have the chance to take on the tradition.
“And kind of have the ability to experience what we got to experience with Gilda's would be wonderful for someone else also,” Michael Rosloniec said.
