Picking out a bingo prize is Laynie Cook, 6, a first-grader, formerly of Glenview and now of Deerfield. Image from the annual Fall Fest at the North Suburban YMCA in Northbrook on Oct. 8, 2022. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

The North Suburban YMCA (NSYMCA) in Northbrook’s annual Fall Fest took place on Oct. 8 on a banner Saturday afternoon with blue sky weather and temperatures approaching 60 degrees.

Fall Fest, a complimentary three-hour event, included climb-on opportunities for children, local entertainment and more.

Bingo is a newer and regular popular attraction at the NSYMCA in part because of a repurposed bingo machine formerly used at Northbrook Days, a Northbrook Civic Foundation event.

“We started to incorporate bingo,” said Kathy Fielding of Wheeling, NSYMCA chief executive officer. “We have a big senior population.”

From right to left, Jim Tuchler of Northbrook, board president of the North Suburban YMCA, and Megan Vazquez of Mundelein, the NSYMCA’s senior director of wellness, call bingo with this vintage bingo machine. Image from the annual Fall Fest at the North Suburban YMCA in Northbrook on Oct. 8, 2022. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

With bingo, “It becomes more intergenerational and community versus just families with little kids,” Fielding said. “Now we have everybody who are coming (to the NSYMCA and bingo).”

Kim Nyren of Northbrook, NSYMCA director of community investment, said the retro bingo machine, estimated at more than 50 years old, had, “been sitting in a garage (at Northbrook Civic) and I saw it one day, I don’t know, five years ago, and I said, ‘What are you doing with this?’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s old, we don’t know if it works.’

“So they donated it to us,” Nyren said with a smile. “And we kind of revamped it and now we use it at our events.

“The other thing that’s cool about bingo is, everybody gets a prize. As long as you play bingo, you get a prize,” Nyren said.

Kids who won bingo at Fall Fest could pick out a gift from a table. Choices included dolls, toy vehicles and other children’s prizes with themes such as superheroes, Star Wars and Disney.

She has bingo! Showing enthusiasm for winning the bingo game is Laynie Cook, 6, a first-grader, formerly of Glenview and now of Deerfield. Image from the annual Fall Fest at the North Suburban YMCA in Northbrook on Oct. 8, 2022. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

There’s a Toy Story too, Nyren said, to be told.

“We used to have an amazing partnership with Toys “R’ Us Highland Park,” Nyren said. “I’ve been here 10 years but they donated all of their clearance toys to the Y before they closed and went out of business.

“We were devastated when they closed.”

The NSYMCA, “still has an inventory from the toys, at the time, when we did it, and we got bikes, and Xbox games, it was unbelievable,” Nyren said.

Nyren stored the toys in her Northbrook residential basement and said, “We had boxes of the stuff.”

Checking out the Little Free Library on the way out from the event is Martha Carlos of Northbrook. Image from the annual Fall Fest at the North Suburban YMCA in Northbrook on Oct. 8, 2022. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

Some of the toys were donated to hospitalized children and other recipients, Nyren said.

“That’s all we have left, those are left over,” Nyren said on Saturday afternoon, pointing out the toys on the bingo prize table along the rim of a large bingo tent.

“But what makes me sad is, once those are gone, we’d have to find another person to donate the prizes in order to have bingo work.”

Nyren hopes to find an individual, group or business willing to continue the Toy Story at the NSYMCA.

Climbing on the playground equipment and also playing with their balloon wands are, from left to right, Charlie Glowacz, 8, a third-grader and Giana Dennis, 8, a third-grader, both from Northbrook. Image from the annual Fall Fest at the North Suburban YMCA in Northbrook on Oct. 8, 2022. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press)

“Our partnership with Toys “R” Us was so amazing, it did so much for so many people that if we could find another partnership, similar to Toys “R” Us that could donate toys or donate things like that in order for us to give back to the community, that would be spectacular for us,” Nyren said.

“It could be an angel,” Nyren said. “We’re always looking for that.”

Contact Kim Nyren, NSYMCA Director of Community Investment at Knyren@nsymca.org, and visit https://www.nsymca.org/.

Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.