It's Kidpalooza Time!

(Re-printed from the Logan Daily News, Logan, Ohio, Originally Published on Saturday, May 8, 2010)
By: Gretchen Gregory - Logan Daily News Reporter


LOGAN —Why did the fisherman throw peanut butter into the ocean? To go with the jellyfish of course!

That’s just the kind of fun going on at the 12th annual Kidpalooza event, held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday,May 13, at the Logan-Hocking Activity Center.

“The Columbus Crew will be coming this year; this is our second year having them,” said Michele Hipple, co-chair of the event and service coordinator for Help Me Grow. “We have pony rides that are weather permitting, and we have face painting. We are having the sheriff’s office doing fingerprinting and then we have someone making ice-cream sundaes for the kiddos.”

All in all, there are more than 30 different local agencies participating in Kidpalooza, and every activity is geared toward children too young for school. Anyone ages birth to five or six-years-old are welcome to enjoy spending time with their parent or guardian doing fun activities all afternoon.

“The day itself is an absolute blast, but is definitely chaotic,” Hipple continued. “Mostly just seeing the kids there having fun is my favorite, and they absolute love the Elmo characters and their eyes just light up. It was really cool to be able to offer pony rides (last year).”

One of the biggest things for the kids is the Hocking Woods Nature Center which brings snakes, she added.

“Basically a lot of county agencies are required to have a child-find focus, so Kidpalooza started 12 years ago as a child-find event in Hocking County and we’ve opened it up to any business agency which has an impact on early childhood development,”Hipple explained. “It’s an opportunity to get awareness materials out to the public and instead of just handing out brochures,we wanted to try tomake it a fun event, and make it a more hands-on experience.”

What began with a handful of agencies in Worthington Park in downtown Logan has grown into an event that attracts 300 children and their families each year.

If any individual, agency, or business is interested in sponsoring the event, or becoming an active participant, contact one of the following Kidpalooza chair people: Jill Squires or Michele Hipple at 385-2430 or Rachel Montgomery at 385-3030. Hocking County Early Childhood Collaborating Committee, the group organizing the event, is a subcommittee of the Hocking County Family and Children First Council.