Your news The first Barrington Area KidFest a huge success
To celebrate June as Leave No Child Inside month, the first Barrington Area KidFest — a fun-filled event combining the 11th annual Community Kite Fly and second annual Family Nature Fest was held Saturday, May 5, at Barrington’s Citizens Park. This family-oriented event was hosted by the Barrington Breakfast Rotary Club, the Barrington Park District and Leave No Child Inside of the Greater Barrington and Lake Zurich area, three community-oriented and nonprofit organizations.
Despite the heavy morning fog and light drizzle, nearly 900 people took part in the more than 25 nature-based educational activities in addition to the popular kite fly. The winds kicked up by 11 a.m., removing the fog, and shortly thereafter, sounds of laughter and glee were heard as kites quickly caught the breezes and began flying gracefully in the air. Four hundred and fifty kites donated by the Barrington Breakfast Rotary were dispersed in just a few hours.
Members and supporters of the Leave No Child Inside initiative, such as the Barrington Area Conservation Trust, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Cultural Arts Center, Boy and Girl Scouts, Care of Trees, Chicago Wilderness, Citizens for Conservation, Cook County Forest Preserve/Crabtree Nature Center, Davis Speed Center, Erehwon, Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, Friends of Spring Creek/Forest Preserve, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Lake County Forest Preserve, Language Stars, Nature Ladies, Quilt by Association, Ride for 3 Reasons, Smart Farm, South Barrington Conservancy, STEMfest, Water’s Edge Waldorf School, Good Shepherd Hospital, Village CycleSport and others provided fun and educational family activities.
These included: tree-climbing, creating crafts, pond-dipping for macro-invertebrates, archery, learning about first aid and how to make pond water potable, scavenger hunts, viewing live raptors, assembling bird houses, slacklining, along with participating in speed and agility demos. Also available was exploring the lives of insects, mammals, foxes, coyotes or the mighty oak tree; making handprint barn quilts, bike-riding along with Bob Lee’s Ride for 3 Reasons, as well as bike and safety checks, vegetable gardening,and much more.
All of that fun and education made everyone hungry and thirsty.
The grill cooked up hot dogs and brats for purchase, along with hot chocolate and coffee, with proceeds assisting the Barrington Breakfast Rotary’s global clean drinking water efforts. Ice cream from local business Kaliedoscoops was also available.
Several raffle items were on hand, including a day with the Barrington Fire Department, tickets to the Morton Arboretum and Kohl Children’s Museum, custom-designed barn quilts and assorted birding books for children. Proceeds from these items benefited the efforts of the Barrington Breakfast Rotary and Leave No Child Inside.
Additionally, there were many give-aways, such as Black Hill spruce saplings in honor of Arbor Day provided by the village of Lake Barrington, long-time supporter and Leave No Child Inside member. Lake Zurich Sonic provided explorer toys such as bug catchers; Lake Zurich Oberweis donated free ice cream cone coupons, LNCI provided each child a hand-held magnifier, with the Rotary and park district offering lanyards to hold the magnifiers.
A special thank-you from the Barrington Breakfast Rotary, Barrington Park District and Leave No Child Inside to all of the organizations and businesses in addition to the middle and high school volunteers who made this day a success. The greater Barrington and Lake Zurich areas are fortunate to have these generous contributors.
KidFest 2013 is scheduled for May 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the rain date of May 5. If you are interested in participating in KidFest 2013, contact info@funoutside.org. To learn more about local or global Rotary efforts or to become a member, visit www.barringotnbreakfastrotary.org.
For information about spending family time in nature or taking part in fitness activities, to become a member, or volunteer your time, visit www.funoutside.org and www.barringtonparkdistrict.org.
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