Neighborhood-Kids All Local. All for Kids. All the Time.

Bellingham Families Have A Blast at Kids' Fest

by Neighborhood-Kids.com8/4/2008 10:56:08 AM

Kids could test out the tumbling mats with North Coast Gymnastics Academy.

Hundreds of kids and parents turned out at Bloedel Donovan Park on Saturday August 2 for the 19th Annual Kids’ Festival, sponsored by Bellingham Parks and Recreation. Clouds hovered over the shores of Lake Whatcom, but the skies stayed dry and eventually turned sunny as families enjoyed food, games, and entertainment at this free community event.

The four-hour festival provided plenty of activities to keep all ages entertained. A “Tot Spot” play area was set up in the Pavilion for ages 3 and under, while older kids could browse the game booths with activities like bean bag toss and putt-putt golf. And the lines got especially long for some popular activities, like a hop through a bounce house and face painting.

Kids could also get creative when they visited a colored paper bags to hold all the goodies they collected during the festival, helped create a papier-mâché sculpture with Pacé Atelier Art Studio, and decorated freshly-made wooden tops, courtesy Northwest Washington Woodturners.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners made tops while kids picked out colors for decorating.

When kids were ready for a break (or, at least, when their parents were), they could relax during performances on the main stage by local acts, such as the Bellingham Youth Jazz Band and Juggler Jason Quick. It was also the perfect opportunity to enjoy the yummy free food, provided by Avenue Pita, Papa Murphy’s Pizza and The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

While most of the day was filled with fun and games, there was also the chance for kids to learn about health and safety. EverybodyBIKE encouraged kids to test out their bike safety knowledge with a Bike Rodeo and obstacle course. A state-wide campaign about health insurance coverage for kids, Washington Apple Health for Kids, also showed up at the festival to inform families about the campaign and to get kids excited about health and fitness.

Kids got their hands dirty making a community sculpture with Pacé Atelier Art Studio.

Parents got to do some learning too, as they explored booths in the Resource Alley with information about local support organizations and businesses in Whatcom County, like Parent to Parent and the Mother Baby Center. Neighborhood-Kids.com also had a table this year. The Kids’ Festival was a fun chance to continue to get the word out about the website and hear some positive feedback from parents who log on regularly to see what’s new with kids in Bellingham and Whatcom County.

Rhonda Shaffer, Program Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County’s Bellingham Club, had fun running one of the game booths at the Kids’ Festival this year. “We have a great partnership with Bellingham Parks and Recreation so this is wonderful opportunity to support them and see a lot of our kids and families enjoying themselves,” Rhonda said. She also noted that we live in a very family-oriented county with lots of different organizations and opportunities for kids, and it was exciting to see many of them come together for the event.

For more information about opportunities for kids and families through Bellingham Parks and Recreation, call (360) 778-7000.