STATE COLLEGE — More than 3,000 people descended on the parking lot at Target on Sept. 10 for the 15th annual Patton Township Children’s Fair, a joint effort between the Patton Township Police Department and the Patton Township Business Association.
“We had a huge draw,” said David Panko, president of the PTBA. “This was the biggest year yet. We had good weather and lots of activities to do for the kids. It turned out to be a pretty good day.”
According to Panko, he and officer Tom Snyder, Patton Township’s crime prevention and community relations officer, developed the event as a way to get children familiar with their local first responders, including policemen and firemen.
“Police officers came in uniform and firemen came with their turnout gear on,” said Panko. “We want the kids to realize people in these funny suits aren’t someone to be afraid of. We want them to know these people are there to help in times of need.”
In addition to the meet-and-greets with first responders, activities included child safety seat inspections, kid fingerprinting, ladder truck rides, a drug awareness trailer, a program on Internet safety for children, a bounce house, pony rides, a petting zoo, games and prizes, and of course, a variety of food.
“We’re probably going to do the pretty much same thing as next year,” said Panko. “This year, we had some mounted police officers, and the kids really enjoyed that, so we’ll probably bring that back. The pony rides were popular and so was the petting zoo. They should all be back in 2017.”
In addition, Panko said plans are to create a “fishing pond” for the children. Here, he said, the kids can fish with magnets to “catch” plastic fish and award prizes.
“We’ve been doing this now for 15 years and it’s really the only event of its type in Central Pennsylvania,” said Panko. “It’s become a tradition, and all those involved are already looking forward to next year.”
