Family Fest returns for second year

The Clay County Regional Events Center is partnering with Positively Spencer Youth to present the second annual Family Fest Saturday, March 3. Show hours are 10: a.m. to 4 p.m. and the show is free and open to the public.

Family Fest features four components: Safety City, family-related exhibitors, inflatables, and activities and the demonstration stage.

"Please join us for Family Fest and come out and have a fun-filled day and enjoy the opportunity to spend some quality family-time together," Scott Hallgren, general manager for VenuWorks, at the Clay County Regional Events Center, said.

He continued, "This event was created as one small way the Clay County Regional Events Center can give back to our community and supporters. We sincerely appreciate all the support we receive throughout the year from the residents and businesses throughout Spencer and northwest Iowa, and certainly understand this facility was built with a combination of private dollars through the generous contributions of many donors and public dollars."

Safety City, sponsored by Spencer Hospital, will feature a fire truck, police cars, ambulance, and tractors. Local police, fire and rescue personnel will be on-site to describe their services and answer any questions. Due to the positive response of Safety City last year, two new components have been added to Safety City for the 2012 show. New for 2012 is child safety seat education and representatives will be on hand with several car seats and a vehicle to show parents how to properly install child safety seats. Come also experience a 'touch of the Fair' and two ag-citing components from the Clay County Fair will be at Family Fest.

The show will also feature several exhibits for families. Attendees will be able to find information on youth organizations, businesses featuring services and products for families, sports organizations, and much more. The Clay County 4-H program is sponsoring "Get Stuck on 4-H," where they will be having a craft area for the kids to create and make duct tape crafts.

Children will also be able to enjoy the inflatables, sponsored by the Farmers Bank of Spencer, which include a Bounce House, Obstacle Challenge, Rescue Heroes, and Screamer Slide. Also featured will be a Wii gaming system area.

The activities and demonstration stage, sponsored by Community Bank and Insurance, will feature several area organizations demonstrating gymnastics and dance, music programs, and other talents. Spencer Police Department will also have their K-9 unit on hand for a demonstration along with a bike safety rodeo. Clay County Naturalist Stacie Young is back with her program on nature education. The show will also have a family prize package to be awarded at the end of the day to a lucky local family.

"We also appreciate our partnership with Positively Spencer Youth and the Family Fest steering committee volunteers, great organizations with a commitment to youth and families," Hallgren said. "We also need to thank our corporate sponsors, for without them this event wouldn't be as successful, we appreciate the commitment to families provided by Spencer Hospital, Farmers Bank of Spencer, and Community Bank and Insurance."

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Interested in exhibiting?

If anyone is interested in being an exhibitor at Family Fest, there are still opportunities available. Please contact Amanda Doar or Pat Ahlers at the Clay County Regional Events Center at 580-3000. For further information on the show, please check out the Events Center website at www.spencerevents.com.