PHOTO PROVIDED Kingdom Kidz puppeteers teach safety lessons with their puppet friends.
MILL HALL — The Kiwanis Club of Bald Eagle and Nittany Valleys held its annual Kids Day/Health and Safety Expo on Saturday, July 13 at the Mill Hall Volunteer Fire Company.
More than 150 children 12 and under with family members attended for an estimate of over 200 visitors through the doors.
As kids and family members entered the fire hall, they were welcomed by over 15 exhibitors and activities with information related to family health and safety like how to take good care of your teeth and eyes.
Kids got to meet Smokey the Bear and were able to enter a raffle for door prizes and also a chance to win one of several bicycles provided by a generous donation from Avery Dennison.
Featured again this year was a reading corner where kids could sit and listen to stories from guest readers. While there, they could also select from a variety of free books made possible in part by a generous grant from the Pennsylvania Kiwanis Foundation.
PHOTO PROVIDED Friend of Kiwanis volunteer Eleanor Kodish entertains youngsters in the Reading Corner.
The area that normally houses the fire trucks was transformed into an area with a small petting zoo featuring goats, three craft stations, a fish pond game, and of course, food. Another popular feature in this area was two puppet shows presented by the Kidz4Education division of Kingdom Kidz on the topics of staying healthy and being safe and learning about emotions. The puppeteers had kids and adults singing, dancing, and learning about how to stay safe and treat one another kindly.
Of the three craft stations, perhaps the most popular was the slime station. Kids learned how to use common household materials to make a slimy substance to play with. Science can be fun! Face painter club member Ashley Walker worked without ceasing to decorate the faces of young attendees. Magician Tony Guerriero entertained the kids just outside close by a UPMC Life Size Operation game where kids could learn the location and functions of some of their internal organs.
Other popular outside events were an obstacle course run by Kiwanians and fitness exercises using drum sticks conducted by the Be One organization. Of course, the popular cart train provided exciting rides through Mill Hall Park.
Kids Day Committee chairperson Penny Meyers posted after the event, “Thank you to all the members who worked hard to pull this event together and gave up a beautiful Saturday to show what the Kiwanis Mission is all about! Thank you to all the vendors and readers and puppeteers and magicians who partnered with us in this event. Thank you to the Mill Hall Fire Company for providing a perfect place! It had to be one of the best yet! Thank you, and hope to see you all next year at the same time.”
The club is now gearing up for its next service project, the third annual Go Gold event to support local childhood cancer awareness groups. The event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Mill Hall Volunteer Fire Company and will feature a raffle table and sale of soups and baked goods.