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PITTSBURG —
Hundreds of Crawford County kids converged on Lakeside Park with their parents Saturday morning and afternoon for a day of archery, boating and games.
Adults and children of all ages filled the park for the annual Outdoor Kansas Kids Day, a collaboration between the Kansas Wildscape Foundation and municipalities around the state. The goal of the program is to provide multiple outdoor recreation opportunities for Kansas kids and their parents, and promote and provide an active lifestyle as an alternative to sitting around the house, said Parks and Recreation Superintendent Sara Mitchell.
According to the KWF website, the O.K. Kids program covers the entire state. Primary sites are at the Kansas State Parks, but other organizations and venues such as city and county parks and recreation departments and private sites also hold O.K. Kids events.
The program was first held statewide in 2001, according to the website, and was limited to a single day of activities at every Kansas State Park. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended the first O.K. Kids Day. Most of the events, which are free, are held between May and September, and more than 14,000 youth and their families attend each year at more than 50 sites.
At Lakeside Park, the kids could learn to shoot a bow and arrow, jump in a bounce house, slide on slip ‘n’ slide, go fishing and canoeing and play tug-of-war. Also, for the first time this year, the parks and recreation department brought in English footballer Ben Halstead-Smith from Challenger Sports in Kansas City to host a British soccer camp.
Pittsburg State University also partners with Parks and Rec to host the event, and student volunteers man the activities. Typically staffed by physical education and recreation students, this year’s event was primarily staffed by psychology students, who are required to earn physical recreation credits, said Jami Woodyard, herself a psychology student and volunteer.
“We’ve had a lot of people come,” Woodyard said. “We’re here all day.”
Pittsburg resident Dacia Wight brought her 6-year-old son, Will, after he brought a brochure home from school.
“It’s something free to do with my son and we can get out of the house for a bit and enjoy the nice weather,” Wight said. “He like fishing and the face painting. He wants a tiger.”
Melissa Talent and her husband, J.P., also of Pittsburg, brought their six children to the park.
“It’s something fun all of us were able to do,” Talent said. “We were going to take them fishing anyway. We killed two birds with one stone.”
At the canoe dock, Pittsburg resident Jay Ward took his 5-year-old son, Landen, and 4-year-old granddaughter, Alexa, for a ride around the pond’s fountain.
“We just like the festivities,” Ward said. “My wife Debbie and I try to get involved in all the Pittsburg events.”
Hundreds of Crawford County kids converged on Lakeside Park with their parents Saturday morning and afternoon for a day of archery, boating and games.
Adults and children of all ages filled the park for the annual Outdoor Kansas Kids Day, a collaboration between the Kansas Wildscape Foundation and municipalities around the state. The goal of the program is to provide multiple outdoor recreation opportunities for Kansas kids and their parents, and promote and provide an active lifestyle as an alternative to sitting around the house, said Parks and Recreation Superintendent Sara Mitchell.
According to the KWF website, the O.K. Kids program covers the entire state. Primary sites are at the Kansas State Parks, but other organizations and venues such as city and county parks and recreation departments and private sites also hold O.K. Kids events.
The program was first held statewide in 2001, according to the website, and was limited to a single day of activities at every Kansas State Park. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended the first O.K. Kids Day. Most of the events, which are free, are held between May and September, and more than 14,000 youth and their families attend each year at more than 50 sites.
At Lakeside Park, the kids could learn to shoot a bow and arrow, jump in a bounce house, slide on slip ‘n’ slide, go fishing and canoeing and play tug-of-war. Also, for the first time this year, the parks and recreation department brought in English footballer Ben Halstead-Smith from Challenger Sports in Kansas City to host a British soccer camp.
Pittsburg State University also partners with Parks and Rec to host the event, and student volunteers man the activities. Typically staffed by physical education and recreation students, this year’s event was primarily staffed by psychology students, who are required to earn physical recreation credits, said Jami Woodyard, herself a psychology student and volunteer.
“We’ve had a lot of people come,” Woodyard said. “We’re here all day.”
Pittsburg resident Dacia Wight brought her 6-year-old son, Will, after he brought a brochure home from school.
“It’s something free to do with my son and we can get out of the house for a bit and enjoy the nice weather,” Wight said. “He like fishing and the face painting. He wants a tiger.”
Melissa Talent and her husband, J.P., also of Pittsburg, brought their six children to the park.
“It’s something fun all of us were able to do,” Talent said. “We were going to take them fishing anyway. We killed two birds with one stone.”
At the canoe dock, Pittsburg resident Jay Ward took his 5-year-old son, Landen, and 4-year-old granddaughter, Alexa, for a ride around the pond’s fountain.
“We just like the festivities,” Ward said. “My wife Debbie and I try to get involved in all the Pittsburg events.”
