ADEL — Saturday’s fifth annual Dallas County Toddler Fest drew a huge number of young families to the Dallas County Fairgrounds for two hours of fun and information.
Sponsored by the 12 public libraries of the Dallas County Library Association and 4RKids Early Childhood Iowa, this year’s event appeared to equal or exceed last year’s attraction of 1,200 toddlers and parents.
“We started with 2,000 wristbands,” said Perry Public Library Director Mary Murphy, “and we’ll count how many are left at the end, but it looks like another record-breaking crowd.”
The Toddler Fest aims to promote awareness of the literary resources that are available locally and provide activities for families of kids ages 2 to 5. Numerous businesses and organizations provided interactive displays, and each child received a free book.
Once again this year, the Dallas County Sheriff’s office made free youth ID cards and encouraged the youngsters to explore a patrol car. Cinderella and Tinkerbell again posed for photos with adoring fans, with Spider man striking a sticky pose. A petting zoo, balloon artists, face painting, a sandbox, oversized building blocks, hula hoops, sidewalk chalk art and many other activities competed for the attention of the youthful pre-readers.
The list of organizations participating in the fifth annual toddler fest gives a sense of the breadth of services and resources available for youngsters in Dallas County: 4R Kids, Dallas County Children’s Advocacy Council, ISU Extension and Outreach Early Childhood and Families Programs, Dallas County Public Health Department, Child Care Resource and Referral, Lutheran Services of Iowa, 100 Acre Woods, Usborne Books and More, Blank Park Zoo, Science Center of Iowa, Sweers Family Chiropractic, HomeCare Services Transportation, Faiths Flock Preschool, AmeriHealth Caritas, Kid Pics child ID cards issued by Dallas County Sheriff’s Benevolent Association, Young Living Essentials, EFR Employee and Family Resources, New Opportunities Inc., Partners in Family Development, New Hope Beginnings, Iowa Food Bank Association, Crisis Intervention and Advocacy Center, Storybook Adventures, Iowa League of Heroes, Christine Callaway Face Painting, Living History Farms, John’s Baby Steps and the Dallas County Hospital.
The Hy-Vee food stores in Jordan Creek, Perry and Waukee each donated 10 dozen cookies for the two-hour event.
