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Toys have taken over Fellows Riverside’s Davis Center
By Billy Ludt
YOUNGSTOWN
Toys from generations young and old are filling the halls of the D.D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center at Fellows Riverside Gardens this holiday season.
“The idea is to tie in some nostalgia so that the grandmas, grandpas and parents that come have something to show the kids,” horticulture educator Lynn Zocolo said. “It kind of gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.”
Fellows, 123 McKinley Ave., is celebrating the holiday season, which runs through Dec. 31, with Toyland, a departure from the center’s nature-oriented themes of the past few years, Zocolo said.
The Davis Center’s interior is decorated with a number of toy- and holiday-themed attractions, and has planned activities for younger patrons, and part of the gardens are decorated with holiday lights.
“It’s for the young and the young-at-heart,” she said.
Beginning in early summer, a team of volunteers at the Davis Center began planning for the holiday celebration. The team met twice every week, creating decorations and planning for the monthlong festivities.
“If I were to tell you what all the decorations are made out of, you’d be surprised,” said Zocolo. “It’s amazing what they did with pizza boxes.”
Crayons lining guardrails in the Davis Center were put together with pool noodles, poster board and cone-shaped paper cups.
Tall, hand-crafted tin soldiers hang at the Davis Center entryway.
Zocolo said they’re acting as the building’s sentries.
And inside, 51 decorated trees promote area nonprofit organizations.
Between Saturday and Sunday of its first weekend, the center welcomed more than 4,400 visitors.
Colleen Smith and her husband, Tom, brought their granddaughters, Malea Smith and Gianna Horton.
“It’s nice that everybody can participate, and it’s open to all the families in the community,” Colleen said.
The couple said they bring their grandchildren to Fellows year-round for classes and events.
“They can run and just play, and they’re always in sight,” Tom said.
“It’s nice to see them discover,” she said.
Saturday nights during Toyland, the center hosts Reindeer Games, which include giant Jenga pieces, life-sized Scrabble, Pin the Nose on the Snowman and other games, as well as a weekly craft activity that costs $1.
Every week, the center offers a new scavenger hunt with a prize for whoever completes it.
Next Sunday, carolers will sing at the gardens from 3 to 5 p.m.
A full list of holiday events at Fellows and the Davis Center is available at www.millcreekmetroparks.org.