Children from all over Whidbey Island came together Saturday for the sixth annual Children’s Day Festival at the South Whidbey Community Park.
Festival coordinator Robin Hertlein estimated approximately 800 parents and children braved the gray and overcast day.
“It’s just grown every year,” she said.
Hertlein said the primary goal of the festival is to celebrate the Washington state holiday created in 1993 by state legislature specifically for children.
“No matter what they do, it’s all for them,” she said of the day’s activities.
Over 25 local organizations donated their time and money to make the day run smoothly. From face painting and pony rides to balloon animals and fire engines, there wasn’t a child who left the event unhappy, except, perhaps, the two children walking past the fire engine when another discovered its air horn.
The two largest sponsors of the event were the Island/Stanwood Community Health Network and the Anti-Tobacco Coalition, according to Hertlein.
South Whidbey Kiwanis gave away free hot dogs, chips and soda, and the Island County Sheriff’s Department had a booth for parents who wanted to complete child identification kits. Lang’s Ponies from Mount Vernon and Party Outfitters wore out the children with their ponies and inflatable toys. In-A-Pinch Childcare provided face painting and Bill Testerman made animals and flowers with his balloons.
Island County Commissioner Mike Shelton started the day off during the opening ceremony, and was followed by several groups, including the South Whidbey Primary School Singers, The Basics, Island Strings, Grey Eagle with storytelling and folk singer Julie Pigot.
Other groups who also attended the festival were the Waldorf School, Big Brother/Big Sister, Sno-Isle Regional Library, Fire District 3, South Whidbey Children’s Center, Soroptimists, Island County Health Department, Readiness to Learn, Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, IDIPIC, Island Recycling, Compass Health, Family Resource Center, Island Recycling, Institute for Children’s Environmental Health, Island County Health Dept., the City of Oak Harbor, Toddler Learning Center, South Whidbey Commons and the South Whidbey Youth Council.
