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Wayland goes way big to celebrate kids

Two pushcart teams race through the streets of Wayland, Michigan, during their community’s inaugural Kiwanis Kids Day celebration. Two dancers (opposite page) teach Kids Day visitors about the area’s Native American heritage.

As a wayward balloon wafts toward the white clouds that sail across a clear blue sky, a little girl concentrates hard, pedaling and steering her way through a bicycle rodeo course.

High-pitched giggles of glee erupt
when a toddler bumps his nose on his ice cream cone. It’s a Norman Rockwell moment. Except this is no make-believe illustration.

It’s Kiwanis Kids Day in Wayland, Michigan, a community of less than 4,000 residents.

“You heard children laughing and giggling,” Wayland Kiwanis club president Jacqueline Straub says. “Everywhere you looked, kids were smiling or holding hands with their parents or the police officers who were guiding them through the bicycle rodeo. It was just one of those perfect days.”

More than 500 children, along with parents, grandparents, families, and friends, attended the event—and almost everything was free, including bright green Kiwanis Kids' Day T-shirts.

"We had 250 T-shirts that we made up," Jacqueline says. "The event was scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and all the T-shirts were gone by noon.".

Under a shade tree in a wading pool filled with beads, children strung bracelets and necklaces. Church members handed out popcorn, cotton candy, and other treats. Grocery stores donated gallons of ice cream. Everywhere, children licked ice cream cones. Boys and girls plunged their faces into bowls of pudding, hunting for gummy worms.

The 20-member Wayland club has plenty of experience with small projects, such as reading to schoolchildren, inspecting child car seats, and contributing funds to a therapeutic riding program. But as the only service organization in the town of about 4,000 residents, members wanted to do something big. When looking through Kiwanis International materials, members learned of Kiwanis Kids Day, an observance established in 1949 to celebrate children. Everyone in the club
went crazy over the idea, Jackie says.

Members contacted agencies that support and serve children, and one by one, schools, police and fire departments, hospitals, businesses, and others agreed to contribute and participate. Wayland Union High School Key Club members dressed as cartoon characters and entertained the crowds. Wayland Middle School Builders Club members set up a lemonade stand to raise funds for the area’s pediatric cancer research.

"At one point during the day, our club members looked at each other and said, 'This is what we're all about: learning, safety, playing, helping children,'" Jacqueline says.

Businesses underwrote the cost of a full-page ad in the local newspaper, and a second ad was printed at no cost. Schools sent students home with informational fliers to spread the word among families.

Wayland Kiwanians originally planned a one-time festival; but now, Jackie reports, the community is looking forward to another perfect day in the park next year—and in years to come.—Tamara Stevens