Centralia College Hosts Annual Family Fun Fest

Lewis County organizations gathered at Centralia College on Friday to provide engaging, educational activities and resources for children and their families. Beginning in 1983, Centralia College has hosted an annual “Family Fun Fest,” a free event that promotes learning through games and activities. Program director Nancy Keaton took over the fun fest nearly 20 years ago and looks forward to continuing to provide this event in years to come.

“Several years ago there was a little talk about discontinuing it, but the parents were like, ‘No, we’ve always brought our kids,’” Keaton said. “So we keep doing it for the community… We’re happy to offer it.”

With a theme of, “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work,” many of the booths and activities involved children working together, like a large parachute for groups to play with and giant connect four. Other activities for kids included face painting, play tunnels and an inflatable bowling set.

Some of the organizations involved in this year’s family fun fest included Discover! Children’s Museum, Head Start, Valley View Health Center and In-Tot Developmental Center. Keaton was most excited for a new booth at the event provided by the Lewis County Rock and Gem Society.

“I love rock hounding and I love introducing kids to it,” Keaton said. “They’re like little treasures you get to find.”

The Lewis County Rock & Gem Society was founded in January by Tony Conjulusa, who brought two tables full of rocks primarily from the Pacific Northwest. Kids can collect some of the rock types in the backyard, Conjulusa said. The tables also had some rocks from other countries and magnifying glasses for kids to use while looking at the rocks.

“We’re trying to re-introduce rockhounding to the younger generation,’ Conjulusa said.

Another booth at the event was hosted by Centralia College Parents as Teachers, a program that works with individualized parent education and focuses on parent-child interaction, child development and child wellbeing. Program manager Kristi Jewell said Parents as Teachers cares about the growth and development of the children in the community.

“This is just a really great opportunity for parents to see all kinds of different agencies and programs in the community, all here together, while giving children a chance to play at the same time,” Jewell said. 

The Lewis County Early Learning Coalition booth gave away crazy straws, which can promote fine motor skills, said Beth Schilling, a chair for the learning coalition. 

“Most early learning people believe support the idea that parents are their child’s first teacher, so how do we prepare parents to help them trust their instincts and really build on the knowledge that they have about their child,” Schilling said.

Gabriela Orozco, a Centralia College teacher assistant in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, helped hand out snack bags and ran activities for kids like fishing for prizes and molding with moon sand. Orozco said parents can see some of the activities that they use in the Early Childhood Education program.

“We do this so kids can share with parents… it’s a day of fun for the kids,” Orozco said. “Parents can see some of what we do.”

There were many parents and children in attendance, some veteran attendees and some first-time visitors. Tina Thormahlen, a parent attending with her son for their first time, said she likes that she gets to interact with other parents at the event.

“I’ve got two older kids, so that’s the hardest thing, being able to actually meet up and have play dates,” Thormahlen said. “Where stuff like this, you can bring all the kids and meet other parents.”

Sarah Russell visited family fun fest with her three-year-old son for the second year, and she was happy to see how much her son had changed.

“(Family fun fest) is wonderful,” Sarah Russell said. “We came last year and this year. It’s fun to see how different he is and how much better he plays this year than last year and which activities are his favorite.”