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Family Fun at Boardman Park
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
BOARDMAN
Though the sky was gray and the day was on the chilly side, families came to Boardman Park on Saturday to celebrate the outdoors.
“If you’re an outdoors person, you’re going to deal with the weather — the elements,” said Karen McCallum, recreation director.
To celebrate the outdoors, participants had a variety of options at the Outdoor Family Fun Day, including fishing, archery and wagon rides. Inside the Lariccia Family Community Center, they could listen to the Red Dust Mountain Boys perform live, make a snake craft and view taxidermy animals and live snakes.
The Birds in Flight Sanctuary also was on hand with live birds of prey. Boats from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources also were on display.
Siblings Connor and Lauryn Wallace of East Liverpool tried their hand at fishing in a large swimming pool in a pavilion. Members of Boy Scout Troop 60 of Boardman helped them. The first 200 children at the event received free fishing poles, courtesy of Armstrong.
The Wallace kids both said they had fished before, but it was fun trying it in a pool in the park. Though live fish were in the pool, they weren’t biting for them.
They agreed on their favorite fun day activity — the scavenger hunt.
“We couldn’t find a pine cone,” Connor, 8, said.
They did find a green leaf and a brown leaf, said Lauryn, 9.
This was the first time the family visited the park.
“My kids love the outdoors and this kind of stuff really
interests them, and I thought it would be a really nice day,” said their mom, Amanda. “I’m very impressed. “It’s very nice.”
Jimmy Lipjanic, 7, of Boardman said his favorite activity of the day was archery. He likes outdoor activities because he enjoys being in the woods and seeing animals. He checked out the taxidermy display in the Lariccia Center.
The family was driving by the park and saw the sign advertising the fun day, said his mother, Candace.
Jimmy “likes the outdoors, so we thought we’d check everything out,” she said. “It’s very nice. Nice activities for the kids, lots of hands-on learning, a great experience.”
This was the third year for the event. Admission was free with the donation of a nonperishable food item to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
For $7, families could camp in the park with Boy Scout Troop 60. Included in the camp-out were a campfire, hot-dog dinner, s’mores and a movie.