09/24/2026
Hi, I’m Sunny (co-founder of Impossibly GlutenFree and one of the three women behind the Chicagoland GlutenFree Fall Fest).
My own GlutenFree journey started several years ago, and it completely changed the way I thought about food (especially how deeply food is woven into connection, celebration and gathering with the people we love).
Because being GlutenFree isn’t just about what’s on your plate. When so much of how we connect with one another happens around food, it can be incredibly othering and isolating.
It’s being the person who has to research the restaurant before everyone goes. Asking all the questions. Explaining cross contact. Bringing snacks “just in case.” Watching everyone else share something you can’t eat. And constantly advocating for yourself while sometimes feeling like you’re being a pain in the ass or the difficult one at the table.
Nothing is ever just easy.
That experience eventually helped lead me to co-found Impossibly GlutenFree, but it’s also a huge part of why this Fest means so much to me.
For one day, we wanted to create a space where the GlutenFree community could put their guards down.
A place where you don’t have to hunt for the one thing you can eat. Where the entire experience was created with you in mind. Where you can wander around, discover something new, eat really good food, sit at a picnic table with other people and just…be normal.
No explaining. No apologizing. No feeling like the difficult one.
Just a field full of choices and a community of people who get it.
Building this alongside Elena of Holcomb Hollow and Jane of Crunchy Culture has been pretty incredible. They are both badass small business owners who bring so much heart, creativity and their own unique strengths to this Fest. I have a ton of respect for what each of them has built, and I’ve really valued the partnership we’ve created (three women coming together, rolling up our sleeves and building something bigger than ourselves).
I cannot wait to stand in that field on October 4 and watch people experience what we’ve been working so hard to build.
For a few hours, we hope nothing about being GlutenFree feels hard.
You’re invited. Gluten’s not.
