THUNDER BAY – When the skies threatened to rain down on the Thunder Bay area this weekend, organizers of the Chippewa Park Children’s Festival had some decisions to make.
First and foremost on their minds was how to keep the festival going, knowing the outdoor activities may have to be scrapped or restricted.
They decided to go ahead anyway, and Mother Nature gave them a little drizzle, but didn’t stop hordes of families from stopping by the park on Sunday to check out the games, face painting and Chippewa rides – not to mention a very popular petting zoo featuring rabbits, chickens and even a goat.
Conan Saunders, 8, had his face painted and said he loved everything about the festival.
“I liked the bouncy castles and I got to hold a baby bunny,” he said.
Seven-year-old Emma Hopkins was equally enthralled with all the activities she found when she arrived at the park early Sunday afternoon.
“The best thing about this is I got to pet a goat and I got to pet bunnies. And we’re about to get both of our faces painted,” she said, unsure of what design to choose from at the face-painting station.
The event, held in support of, and to create awareness for, Our Kids Count, proved to be a tremendous success, said Iain Angus, project manager for Friends of Chippewa Park.”
“As we were mumbling to ourselves, do we go ahead or do we cancel, we figured we’ve got lots of indoor space in the pavilion, so let’s just rearrange things. I’m so glad, because we’ve had hundreds of people come out, starting at 10 o’clock this morning and they keep coming,” Angus said.
“They’re having a great time, and that’s what this is all about.”
It’s also all about showcasing Chippewa Park and its activities, not to mention helping a grassroots community organization.
Emey Hendricks, the development manager at Our Kids Count, said it’s an exciting day for everyone involved, even with the rain.
“The kids are having a great time. We’re seeing all kinds of activities going on with the petting zoo. We’ve got the rides going, we’ve got the inflatables outside and food vendors and activities like face painting going on in the pavilion itself. The rain certainly hasn’t stopped the kids from having fun.”
The event wraps up at 5 p.m.
