BLOOMINGTON — Marlene Rutherford describes her 8-year-old son, Leighton, as being kind of quiet and shy.

But he seems to open up a little bit when the subject is hockey, said Bloomington PrairieThunder center Matt McIlvain.

“I was trying to coach him a little with his shot, but it turned into him coaching me on mine,” McIlvain said Thursday night at the Orthopedic & Sports Enhancement Center’s SPORTStacular, an event on the opening night of the Festival of Trees in Bloomington.

Leighton visited with Thunder players and took the opportunity to practice his shot into open nets at the PrairieThunder booth at the Interstate Center, 2301 W. Market St., Bloomington.

In addition to the PrairieThunder, professional baseball players from the Normal CornBelters and Peoria Chiefs and athletes from Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan universities attended.

The 16th annual Festival of Trees will continue through Sunday. Proceeds benefit programs at The Baby Fold in Normal, which serves children and families with programs including adoption, foster care, residential treatment and family support.

“The SPORTStacular theme is a way to attract a new demographic of visitors,” said Baby Fold spokesman Pete Moore. “We always draw nice crowds just because of the trees, but we thought there was an audience out there that we weren’t reaching.”

Festival Chairwoman Melissa Manness said it’s a good fit for everyone.

“There isn’t another event like this where you have the athletes interacting with the attendees,” she said. “Here we have athletes from football, hockey, baseball and various other sports from ISU and IWU represented, and we hope to carry on this tradition in the future. The athletes and teams we have talked to have been very supportive.”

ISU head men’s basketball coach Tim Jankovich and IWU head men’s basketball coach Ron Rose each gave motivational talks Thursday evening.

The fundraising goal for the festival is $210,000. Last year’s event netted $191,518.

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Festival of Trees

What: Festival of Trees to benefit The Baby Fold

When: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Interstate Center, 2301 W. Market St., Bloomington

Cost: Adults, $6 in advance; $7 at door; children 3-12, $2; children under 3, free

Tickets: Available at The Baby Fold, 612 Oglesby Ave., Normal; online at festoftrees.org; or by calling 309-451-7254.