Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – From a climbing wall to a scavenger hunt and performances by the man who loves mud, the first-ever Forum/Kiwanis Fun Day will be sure to delight local children and their families. The Fun Day will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at The Forum in Presque Isle.
“I called Janet Kelle [executive director of the Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce] because of some of the acts and entertainment she had rounded up for the Maine Potato Blossom Festival,” said Forum Director Jim Kaiser. “I asked her what she had for entertainment and told her why, and she said the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club was thinking about doing something similar in September, and wanted to talk to me about the dates so we wouldn’t have a scheduling conflict.
“The more we talked, the more we decided it would be a good idea if we just combined events, and it went from there,” he said.
Highlighting the Fun Day will be singer/songwriter Rick Charette, who is known for such songs as “I Love Mud” and “Alligator in the Elevator.” A life-long resident of Maine, Charette has released 10 albums, two children’s picture books, and two live concert videos.
Charette will perform at noon and 2 p.m. Also signing that day will be John Tercyak, with shows at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; and Fireman Fred and his kids’ karaoke performing from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
“We’ll also have a climbing wall, bouncing house, a spinning pumpkin amusement ride, the ‘Convincer,’ which simulates a 5 mph crash in a seatbelt; a scavenger hunt in loose hay, the Presque Isle Police Department will come in with Dozer,” said Kaiser, “and we’ll have representation from the Caribou Children’s Museum, the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library, Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Presque Isle Indoor Pool.”
The Presque Isle Kiwanis Club will oversee a number of games during the day.
“We’re gearing this toward children 12 and under,” said Fun Day co-chair Amanda Scott. “We’ll have a ring toss, goal kicking, relay race and much more. The games will be running concurrently the whole day, and we’ll have the younger and older kids playing separately so they won’t be competing against each other.”
Kaiser said the Forum staff has wanted to do their own event for a long time, but never had the funds to do so.
“It’s hard to put something together … especially up here. The resources are so spread out over the state, it makes it really hard to put on a kid’s event,” he said. “We had a pretty good handle on it, but when we got the chance to work with the Kiwanis, things really came together. It helps us and it helps them, and the partnership is working out really well.”
“The Kiwanis is for kids, and we really didn’t have a fall activity,” said Scott, “so we were going to try to do a fun day. It’s worked out really good working with The Forum staff because we’re splitting advertising costs and other expenses.”
Scott said she hopes families will come out and enjoy themselves.
“We want it to be more of a family event where people can go with their kids … a community event,” she said. “We’re hoping for a good turnout. I encourage families to bring their children to our Fun Day. It should be a good time. We’re doing it to benefit the community; not to benefit the Kiwanis Club or The Forum. I’m hoping the community comes and enjoys it.”
Admission is $10 for children while parents are admitted free.
