By Katie Barker
Carter County Times
June 20 marked the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year – at least in the northern hemisphere – and officially the first day of summer.
It also marked the UK Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Center’s and Grayson Sports Park’s second annual Longest Day of Play event. The event gave parents and kids an opportunity to spend the evening at Grayson Sports Park; enjoying the park’s amenities, and learning about resources available to them through the Extension. The Extension Agency and Sports Park partnered with Carter County Schools, the health department, and Primary Plus to put on the event, along with many other businesses and organizations.
Booths were set up in various spots around the sports park. Some had face paint, while others had slime, balloons, and giveaways going on. There were also a variety of organized and spontaneous activities all around for kids to participate in such as jenga, obstacle courses, tumbling mats, and carnival like games. But one of the main purposes was just to get kids moving and having fun with their friends and neighbors.
“The goal of this is to bring families together, and to get kids more physical activity through something that is free and safe for the entire community,” said the Extension Agency’s Whitney Morrow when asked about how this benefits the community and the goal of it all.
She said the event also allows families to learn about different resources that are available to them around the county. Most importantly though, at least for the kids, it gives them time to run around the park and explore the different activities while getting lots of free goodies.
Each kid that came received a free meal, snow cones, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and jump ropes along with any other prize they might have picked up from the many booths.
Contact the writer at news@cartercountytimes.com
