Midwest Kidfest in Fargo, North Dakota
The Midwest Kidfest is held each year in the summer for the kids and families of Fargo North Dakota. It is a free festival celebrating kids and gathers kids in the thousands each year. In 2004 there was an estimated 12,000 attending during the one day event.
This year the Kidfest was held on June 17, 2005 at the Island Park in Downtown Fargo. And there were hundreds of kids at any one time going from booth to booth checking out the games and displays from local businesses, Law Enforcement and caring community organizations.
The raptors that the kids got to see were a variety of birds of prey such as the Great Horned Owl, the Red Tailed Hawk and the beautiful American Bald Eagle. The people from the Raptor Center answered questions and informed the awed audience about the birds and conservation of their environment.
The Raptor Center uses birds that have been too injured to be returned to the wild to educate the public at events just like the Midwest Kidfest about raptors and their importance to the environment.
The Raptor Center not only performs these community outreach programs but is a part of the universities College of Veterinarian Medicine that specializes in the medical care, rehabilitation, conservation, and study of eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons.
The kids loved being able to see a Bald Eagle up close and ask questions about them and their cousins, the Kestrel and Red Tailed Hawk. The program is repeated throughout the day for the different audiences that are there at different times of the day.
The life sized game is played on the grass that is marked off for that purpose. Kids got to play checkers and use pieces about three feet across. There are other games that volunteers help the kids play and have a great time.
The clowns are a part of Clowndimonium, a local clown troupe that is familiar at these kinds of events in the Fargo Moorhead area. They are a professional clown troupe that has been performing together since 1996. Together they have a combined 30 years experience in clowning.
They have a great show and are available to perform for a wide variety of clown fun which you can check out at their website here:
http://www.clowndimonium.com/
They have a great show that uses clowning, juggling, magic and audience participation to entertain their audience. They are also very helpful with trying to get kids to get to know about clowning and be less afraid of clowns. They hold a clown class and show young kids what clowning is all about and even dress the class up as clowns.
Then they participate in the Teddy Bear Parade that kicks off the Midwest Kidfest. The parade is a way to get them to understand what the job of clowning can entail and help them overcome any fears of clowns or of becoming a clown.
The Teddy Bear Parade is the kick off for the Kidfest, it is only a few blocks long and has the general theme of teddy bears. As you can see from the pictures they have a lot of teddy bears and even a much larger bear.
After the parade ends at the Island Park site of the Kidfest they start the fun and games. All day long the stage is active with shows. This year the Lake Agassiz Girl Choir sang, Penny & Pals gave their child based concert of kids songs that are interactive with the kids of the audience and fun for everyone.
Clowndimonium gave their great clown acts all over the park during the day and ended the day at the stage for a performance with an opening act of a young magician. Philip is practicing magic and learning how to perform in 4-H and by help from people just like the Clowndimonium troupe.
He is also my son, he was asked to perform to help start the show and to help the clowns of the future learn their trade. That is something that the group at Clowndimonium believe strongly in. Helping the new and young entertainers learn about the art.
There was also a professional Magician by the name of Jeff Salveson who wowed the audience with his great routine of magic.
The Midwest Kidfest would not be complete without the great fair food available throughout the park. There was all kinds of great things to purchase and enjoy.
Many local organizations such as day cares, YWCA, the Fargo Youth Commission and others had their booths and activities to entertain and inform the families and kids about their services.
The day was fun for all involved and many kids had a great time at the festival for them.
