Popcorn, hot dogs, pony rides and the Tooth Fairy — they all mean kids are having fun.

And kids are the focus of Island County Children’s Day 2002, which will make its fifth annual appearance Saturday at South Whidbey Parks and Recreation’s Community Park.

It’s an islandwide celebration, stresses coordinator Kathy McLaughlin.

“This is a day for children and families from all over Whidbey,” McLaughlin said. “Children need to know they are valued members of the community, and this is one day that’s meant to show them.”

The agencies, service clubs, program providers and others who have planned the day have combined to offer games, storytelling, prizes and all the other activities in which children delight.

There is also the attraction of free food, provided by the South Whidbey Kiwanis and South Whidbey Elementary PTA.

Jim Freeman, famous Conductor of Fun, will preside over the day’s events. These will include face painting, zoo tattoos, magic, karaoke, kite making and jousting with giant foam tubes.

New this year will be pony rides, guaranteed to be a hit. The Sno-Isle Bookmobile will arrive with its books and stories, and Fire District 3 will have its shiny trucks and equipment up for inspection.

There will also be the popular field games: tug o’ war, three-legged races and water-balloon tosses.

“We’re hoping adults and children do these together, maybe kids against parents in a tug o’ war,” McLaughlin said. “A lot of what we encourage here is intergenerational.”

That theme is echoed in the annual Run for Kids Sake, a 5K/10K run or 2K walk at 10 a.m. that benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Island County.

This year it’s being called the Marjie Monnett Memorial Run. The late Mrs. Monnett had been a member of the agency’s board.

Other athletic events will include a soccer challenge and skateboarding demonstrations by the South Whidbey Skate club. Non-athletic but intriguing will be Fatal Vision, in which participants can try to walk a straight line wearing impairment goggles. The event is sponsored by the Impaired Driving Impact Panel of Island County.

There won’t be a pie-eating contest this year, but the South Whidbey Soroptimists are sponsoring an Oreo cookie-stacking contest instead.

“We actually ‘borrowed’ the idea from the Freedom Festival on July 3,” McLaughlin said. “The Soroptimists loved it. And the best thing is, they don’t have to bake the pies.”

Finally, one of the most popular events of the day will return with the “nickel interview.”

“We ask kids to tell us their opinions of Children’s Day and suggest ideas for future events,” McLaughlin said. “Then we give them 5 cents for the interview. They all come over to get their nickel, and we get their feedback to make the day better and better.”

Children’s Day was established in 1993, based on the Legislature’s finding that “children are at risk for many things, including drug and alcohol abuse, assault, suicide, peer pressure, and the economic and educational challenges of a changing world,” McLaughlin said.

“We hope everyone will use Children’s Day as a time to listen to the voices of children, address their concerns, and acknowledge their contributions.”