Join Us at the ECFE Expo!
Join us for a fun-filled event where little ones and their families can learn, grow and shine bright together!
Admission is Free.
Prize Drawings! Gift bags for the first 300 families.
Learn, Grown & Shine Together!
- Learn about ECFE parent/child classes for children from birth to age five
- Discover local resources for families with children from pre-birth to kindergarten
- Connect with businesses and organizations that support young children and parents
- Join panel discussions on parenting topics like feeding, eating and sleeping
- Explore our big truck and bus area
- Enjoy a children’s concert by Wirth Music Center and the Lullaby Project
- Tour ECFE parent/child classrooms
- Enter to win fun door prizes
- And most importantly, have fun!
Saturday, Sept. 6
9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Quarryview Education Center
800 7th St S, Waite Park
District 742 Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) is kicking off the school year in a big way with our very first ECFE Expo!
This free event is open to all families with young children in our community. The first 300 attendees will receive a welcome gift.
This special day is about family, early learning and community connections. Whether you’re new to ECFE or have been part of our programs before, this is the perfect chance to explore what’s available and have some fun with our staff, community partners and other families.
We hope to see you there as we launch the school year with learning, laughter and community. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Event Activities
ECFE Classroom Experiences
Experience a 30-minute hands-on session to explore an ECFE parent-child classroom.
Sessions
- 10:00-10:30
- 10:45-11:15
- 11:30-12:00
- 12:15-12:45
Sign up at each classroom door.
Limit: 10 children, 2 adults per child.
Room options: 0–24 months, 2–3 years, and 0–5 years
Touch-a-Truck
Explore and interact with a firetruck, police car, school bus, metro bus, freight truck and quarry truck!
Exhibitor Booths
Join us in the gym to interact with our many exhibitors and discover education, health and wellness, parenting and family support resources.
- Fahan Organization
- Clary Clinic
- Avon Hills Folk School
- Just For Kix
- St. Cloud Credit Union
- Reach Up, Inc.
- First Steps Central MN
- Milestones
- Hooyo Hour
- Cairo
- Tri-CAP
- Ellison Center
- ISD#748 Oak Ridge Early Learning Center
- St. Cloud State University
- Great River Children's Museum
- Exploring Potential Interests & Careers (EPIC)
- Alison Hauck Portraits & Design
- Dan Anderson State Farm Agency
- Culture Bound Mental Health Services
- United Way of Central Minnesota
- Rotaract Club of St. Cloud
The Main Stage Schedule
9:30 Doors Open
9:40 Welcome to the ECFE Expo & What is ECFE?
- Four ECFE parents share what ECFE is, their experiences, and why it matters.
9:55 Parenting Panel Talk: Let’s Talk Baby Feeding
Join our panelists as they discuss baby and toddler feeding and answer questions from the audience.
- Niki DeVall – Licensed Early Childhood Educator, Parent & Family Educator, and Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (Beholding Baby – beholdingbaby.com)
- Jeanne Friebe – Registered Nurse & International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (St. Cloud Baby Café)
- Nicki Palm – Licensed Early Childhood Educator
10:15 Break
10:20 Children’s Concert by The Wirth Center for the Performing Arts
- An interactive and engaging experience for young children—featuring music, movement, and lots of fun!
10:40 Break
10:45 Children’s Concert by The Lullaby Project
- A heartwarming performance as multicultural singers share traditional lullabies from their home countries.
11:00 Prize Drawing
11:05 Welcome to the ECFE Expo & What is ECFE?
- Four ECFE parents share what ECFE is, their experiences, and why it matters.
11:20 Parenting Panel Talk: Parenting in Pajamas: Sleep Support from Birth-5
- Join our panelists as they discuss sleep support for young children and answer questions from the audience.
- Niki DeVall – Licensed Early Childhood Educator, Parent & Family Educator, and Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (Beholding Baby – beholdingbaby.com)
- Angie Klinefelter - Licensed Parent Educator and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist
- Nicki Palm - Licensed Early Childhood Educator
11:40 Break
11:45 Children’s Concert by The Wirth Center for the Performing Arts
- An interactive and engaging experience for young children—featuring music, movement, and lots of fun!
12:05 Break
12:10 Children’s Concert by The Lullaby Project
- A heartwarming performance as multicultural singers share traditional lullabies from their home countries.
12:25 Prize Drawing
Parenting Talk Panelists
Jeanne Friebe
is a Registered Nurse & International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (St. Cloud Baby Café)
Jeanne has been working with breastfeeding families for the past 45 years as an RN at CentraCare, with experience in labor and delivery, postpartum, the NICU, and through Childbirth Education instruction. She started working with medical oncology patients at the beginning of her nursing career. Jeanne is famous for saying, “I went from tomb to womb."
In working with the NICU level 2 and 3 premature newborns and their families, she found that her passion for breastfeeding flourished as she worked with mothers struggling to breastfeed, produce milk and pump. In 1997, she was hired to start an inpatient lactation program and had the opportunity to focus most on the breastfeeding population.
In 1999, she became an IBCLC. She is also currently certified through the NCC in the low-risk newborn population and serves on the content writing team for that organization.
On August 26, 2019, she began a new chapter by starting an outpatient lactation clinic, a dream come true that had been many years in the making. Since then, it has grown a robust prenatal lactation education program along with introducing colostrum harvesting to the community. In 2020, she started the St. Cloud Baby Café, which is also going strong.
She opened the St. Cloud Milk Depot location and is serving on the MN Milk Bank board of directors. She served on the MN Breastfeeding Coalition Board for two years and has stayed involved as part of the event planning team.
She and her husband have five children, six grandchildren and love living on the lake in St. Joseph, MN. Just two more years to join her husband in retirement.
Nicki Palm is a Licensed Early Childhood Educator with District 742.
Nicollete DeVall is a Licensed Early Childhood Educator, Parent & Family Educator, and Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (Beholding Baby – beholdingbaby.com)
Nicollete has a passion for helping families. With experience facilitating parenting groups, working with infants and toddlers, and supporting families with feeding their babies. Nicollette has a wealth of knowledge on all things babies and breastfeeding.
You can connect with her at www.beholdingbaby.com, where she shares resources on a variety of infant development and lactation topics and offers one-on-one support for families with young children.
Angie Klinefelter is a Licensed Parent Educator and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist
Angie Klinefelter, MS, LMFT, IMH-E® has a master’s degree in Child and Family Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, and is endorsed as an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist through MACMH-IEC. Angie has 30 years of experience in the education field, including Parent Education and home visiting in central MN ECFE programs. She currently provides training and reflective consultation for multidisciplinary practitioners working with young children and families.
ECFE Parent Panelists
Todd Meyer is a father of 3. He lives in Royalton. He and his wife both work full-time.
Paola Cardenas Carrillo studied Business Administration, Managerial Sciences, and Positive Psychology, and has co-authored two books and written the foreword for another. Since arriving in the U.S. five years ago, she has worked closely with the Latino community, helping families connect with resources and support.
Paola currently serves as a Family Advocate for District 742 and facilitates the Circle of Security Parenting Program through the Ellison Center. With her husband, she co-created Brillantemente, a program funded by the United Way that runs at South Junior High to help children and teens discover their life’s purpose.
She loves being part of the ECFE program and believes parents need effective tools to support their children’s education and guide them with love and intention.
Brittany Altendorf is a mom to two little girls, Sophie, age 7, and Lydia, age 4. They have been participating in ECFE classes since Sophie was a year old. Brittany is a stay-at-home mom with a professional background in infant and early childhood mental health. She is interested in mother-baby connection with a special focus on breastfeeding.
Naima M. Haji is a mother of three children, an inspiring educator, author and founder of Bilan Consulting. A passionate advocate for early childhood literacy and equity, she empowers families and builds brighter futures through education, leadership, and community impact.
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