Family Fun Night

Friday, 03 August 2012

This evening, in an attempt to give my wife some time to run to the store and get the house ready for company, I took the kids to a local park. About a week ago, I saw a flyer advertising August 3rd (that’s today) as a family fun night; the highlight being an after-dusk showing of Rango. I had no intention of sitting through another showing of this boring and marginally-sensical animated film, but I thought the other activities looked fun.

I didn’t tell my kids there was anything special going on at the park, I just asked them if they wanted to go to the park. They came running into the kitchen from the living room, both shouting “Yay!” and clapping their hands.

“All right, get your shoes on,” I said.

The first thing I noticed as I pushed the stroller toward the park was a table with snacks on it. There was a jar with a sign indicating donations were welcome. Ugh. I left my wallet at home (I don’t often bring cash to the local park). I felt bed not having even a dollar to toss in the jar, especially since the jar was nearly empty.

We walked through the line, which went fast, and took some snacks. Volunteers helped everything go smoothly; one man was working a large grill, preparing several hot dogs at a time, and other volunteers helped us with cups of lemonade.

We sat on a park bench; Owen downed a hot dog, a bag of chips, and some pink lemonade. Isla had chips and yellow lemonade (her favorite color). We each enjoyed a cookie. Behind us was the open field, and several families had already parked themselves on the grass with lawn chairs and blankets in preparation for the movie. Owen, meanwhile, couldn’t keep his eyes off the inflatable jumper.

As soon as we were done eating, we ran over to the jumper, and we only had to wait a couple of minutes to have a turn. The folks in charge said that little kids could go in, too. There were only two other kids inside, so I told Owen to take care of his sister and sent them both in. This was Isla’s first time inside a jumper.

After the frenetic jumping session – which, I could tell from their expressions, didn’t last nearly long enough – we walked over to the crowd and sat down to watch a puppet show. Open Eye Theater was there, and, as part of their summer Drive Way Tour, they put on a showing of Katie Tomatie.

They both absolutely loved this show. They never took their eyes off the tiny stage. Even when it was tough to hear (lots of people were making noise on the playground and near the climbing wall), they kept watching. A loud noise in the show made Isla jump, and she got up off the grass and settled into my lap for reassurance. I asked her if she was okay, and – too engrossed to look away from the stage – I deduced she was fine.

Once the show, which lasted about 20 minutes, completed, Owen said, “I bet mama’s gonna wonder where we are! We’ve never been at the park so long!” I told him he was probably right.

If you live in the metro area, get to a Family Fun Night. And, if you have young kids, take them to an Open Eye production. You’ll be glad you did. Just try to remember your wallet.