Next month’s Plainfield Moldova Sports Festival will celebrate Moldovan heritage through music, food and athletic competitions.

The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8 at Settlers’ Park in downtown Plainfield. This is the first year of the event in Plainfield.

“The idea of the event was to bring something from back home and share it with the community,” Anton Lungu, Consulate General of the Republic of Moldova in Chicago, said at the July 20 Plainfield Village Board meeting.

He noted that a large number of Moldovan immigrants live in Plainfield, Joliet, Naperville and Aurora. Moldova is a landlocked country bordering Ukraine and Romania.

“Plainfield has become home to a dynamic and growing Moldovan community,” Lungu said. “We hope that this will be an event that brings people together.”

Last year, it was held in Naperville. The Institute for Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange and the Consulate General of the Republic of Moldova in Chicago are organizing the festival.

Admission is free. Those attending the festival will have the chance to participate in a number of activities, including a tug-of-war competition, pilates and yoga.

Within Settlers’ Park, live music will be presented at the Richard A. Rock Amphitheater. Activities also will be held in the adjacent vacant property just west of the park.

Two Plainfield police officers will be assigned to the event, which is expected to attract between 150 to 200 people.

“That’s just due to the fact that there will be alcohol at the event,” Plainfield Police Chief Robert Miller said during the meeting in talking about the need for police officers at the event.

The estimated cost of two police officers is $2,000. Under the village’s special event ordinance, the organizer is responsible for 50% of the public safety costs.

A food and beverage court will be located near the pavilion. Plainfield village trustee Vanessa Sula is looking forward to the festival.

“I think it’s going to be an incredible event,” she said. “One of my daughter’s best friends is Moldovan and I’m very excited to get our family here to be able to see some of her country.”

Village trustees at the meeting unanimously approved plans for the event.