Brooke Hills celebrates National Kids Day

WELLSBURG -- Many families came together for an evening of fun and games Friday as Brooke Hills Park again celebrated National Kids Day.

The festivities included free admission to the park's swimming pool, free hot dogs, chips and drinks, music by disc jockey G-Con and two contests involving hundreds of plastic ducks.

Youth 15 and under and parents, grandparents and other family members were challenged to create small boats from assorted materials for the annual Duck Boat Challenge.

While conforming to a size restriction of 6 inches by 8 inches, the 25 crafts entered were made with cardboard, plastic bottles, egg cartons, pool noodles and other everyday items.

Participants could bring their vessels from home, but several families gathered under a park shelter to build their entries with materials supplied by the park.

Among them were Brad Coen of Wellsburg and his 10-year-old son, Declan.

As he aided Declan in applying packing tape to his creation, Coen said he was happy to be spending a day off from work enjoying pleasant weather with his son.

Volunteers Britney Hervey Farris, Nikki Mitchell and Pam Cox placed the boats, each carrying several ducks to start, into the pool. From there they added more until the vessels could no longer stay afloat.

Winning the contest for the age 9-15 division was Sophia Rotellini of Wellsburg, whose boat carried 73 ducks, and tying for the age 8 and under division were Weston Huff of Wellsburg and Eli Romine, whose boats each held 110 ducks.

The three got to choose from a variety of toys and other children's items for their prize.

All children in attendance were entered into a free prize drawing, while the park sold chances to many adults for the Duck Pluck event.

Hundreds of numbered ducks were spilled into the pool and drawn randomly to determine the winners of a television, charcoal grill, patio furniture, park passes and other prizes.

Janice McFadden, the park's manager, said proceeds from the drawing will go to children's programs offered by the park through the year.

While visitors of all ages patronize the park's golf course, paddle boat pond and other facilities, McFadden and her staff work to offer many things for youth, including week-long summer day camps and treat trails at Halloween and Easter.

The National Kids Day event has been an annual occurrence for some time. The day itself was created by KidsPeace, a nonprofit organization, to encourage families to spend time together and to recognize the important role children play in society.

It got high marks from many families in attendance.

Kevin Agee of Wellsburg said he and his family recently moved back to Brooke County after living in Pennsylvania and were impressed to see its newer additions.

His stepson, 12-year-old Mason Rotellini, said he particularly enjoyed swimming in the pool and seeing bluegill in the paddleboat pond.

McFadden said because many of the park's lifeguards are returning to school and other commitments, the pool's hours will be reduced for the remainder of the season.

It will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday only from Aug. 19 through 27.