Watch a video of Kids Fest 2008 at Caras ParkThe free festival takes place the first Thursday in August every year. Some of the events at this Kids Fest included face painting, birdhouse building, various arts and crafts, an obstacle course and live music.
“We do Kids Fest every year to celebrate the community,” said Shirley Kinsey, recreation manager for Missoula Parks and Recreation. “All the booths have to be interactive for the kids and are free.”
“The kids are so excited to be here and the parks department does such a great job,” said Janet Sproull, who brought her grandson, Jackson Sproull, and her niece.
Much to his delight, Jackson was able to dunk counselor Nikol Stirling, 15, twice.
The counselors took turns in the tank in 15-minute sessions or until they got too cold, but Stirling said the water wasn't that bad.
“The first time I did it, it was a big surprise because I never did it before, so I screamed a little bit,” Stirling admitted. “But if you pay attention, it's not so surprising.”
Another big attraction was a booth hosted by the Missoula Fireflies where kids learned about poi spinning, experimented with their own techniques and tried to copy the Fireflies.
Poi originated in New Zealand among the Maori tribes and is a combination of juggling and freestyle dance. A person takes a ball hooked onto a cord and swings it around their bodies, trying not to hit themselves or get the cords tangled. Sometimes, the balls are on fire.
A booth that drew a lot of parents was the New York Life Insurance booth that offered free child IDs.
“Child IDs keep all the information the authorities are going to need in the event anything happens to the child, because parents can forget it with all of the stress of the situation,” said Forrest Leder, a New York Life employee running the booth.
At the end of the three-minute process, parents receive a paper including parent contact information, a current picture of the child, the child's current size and weight, and other important information.
Kristi Hintz's son would not let them leave until he got to see the fire truck, ambulance and police car. Kids were able to go inside all the vehicles and explore, coming away with stickers, coloring books and temporary tattoos.
“I think they're pretty excited to see the lights and sirens,” said EMT Meredith Ruland, who added that she volunteered for Kids Fest because she likes to show the community what she does.
The festival, which takes all summer to plan, has been growing for 16 years, attracting new families and families who never miss it.
“It's fun; we come every year,” said Tracy Ursey, mother of two. “It's one of the highlights of our summer.”
The event was organized by Missoula Parks and Recreation along with various other businesses and organizations.
Brienna Boydstun is a newsroom intern at the Missoulian. She is a journalism student at the University of Montana.
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