Notepad

Free kids’ festival kicks off summer fun

A free festival complete with clowns, fossil searches, food, music and more will run from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 1 in downtown Asheville’s City/County Plaza.

The inaugural Childrens First Festival will also feature a giant air slide, a moon walk and dinosaur digs, along with a sack race, a three-legged race and other games. Mazie the Mouse will even put in an appearance.

Other activities — designed to be both fun and educational — will be offered by Mission Children’s Hospital and other local organizations, including The Health Adventure, the YMI Cultural Center, the YWCA, AmeriCorps and the Colburn Gem and Mineral Museum. The festival is an alcohol- and smoke-free event.

Later that evening, a dance for all Asheville and Buncombe County fifth-graders will be held at Homewood (at the corner of Montford Avenue and Zillicoa Street) in Asheville. Children will learn dance steps — and social etiquette — in a fun environment. During the dance, child-development expert Dr. Olson Huff will speak to their parents about raising adolescents.

The dance is a fund-raiser for Children First. Cost: $25 per child (parents get in free).

For more info on the festival and dance, call Children First at (828) 259-9717 or check out www.childrenfirstbc.org. Both events will be held rain or shine.

— Tracy Rose

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