A Wii bit of fun at Geneva festival

Garrett Steenwyk got hit in the head with several soccer shoes Tuesday.

Then, for good measure, a stuffed panda bear's head was kicked at him.

And just so you don't think he didn't score any points, he also used his head to push aside a few soccer balls.

No, this wasn't some strange ritual introducing the 8-year-old Garrett to life as a goalkeeper. It was one of two Nintendo Wii Fit video games he played at the 59th annual Swedish Days on Tuesday.

Along with the soccer game, Garrett tried his luck at a slalom skiing game.

"I thought it was good," Garrett said. "I liked the soccer one because I'm better at that one."

Wii made its first appearance at Swedish Days in Geneva and will remain on the courthouse lawn at the corner of James and Third streets until the festival ends on Sunday.

Just after the Wii Fit display opened at 1 p.m., more than 35 children and adults surrounded the 13 playable game consoles and waited their turn.

Garrett's mother, Chris, of Sugar Grove, also brought her other son, 11-year-old Aaron.

"I thought it'd be neat to see what it was all about," she said.

Steenwyk said the kids have two video game systems at home, including the Wii.

"It keeps them moving," she said.

Wii Fit was released in May and offers fitness-related activities and games that are more physical than your average video game.

Although Geneva resident Shyla Pritz briefly forgot how old she was -- it was her 11th birthday so she is not yet accustomed to saying 11 -- she did not forget how she did on Wii Fit's Hula Hoop game.

"I got to 106 spins," she said.

She said the game was fun and her mother, Annette, also enjoyed herself with the Marble Drop game. In Marble Drop, a player balances on the Wii's balance board and manipulates a marble toward a hole in a platform.

She said even playing for a short amount of time gave her a sense of the fitness benefits of the game.

"You can feel your muscles from this," Annette said. "It's not intense but I think it's great."

Playable versions of Wii Fit will be available at Swedish Days from 1 to 9 p.m. this week.