Trenten Cottingham made quite the entrance at Saturday’s Kids Fest.
As people filtered into Seymour Middle School for the return of the event after a three-year absence, the 10-year-old Seymour-Jackson Elementary School fifth-grader arrived while sitting in the passenger seat of a Seymour Fire Department firetruck.
The siren blared as Firefighter Andy Wolka drove the firetruck into the parking lot and stopped in front of the school. He got out and opened the door for Cottingham to hop out and go inside the gymnasium for the opening ceremony.
“This is like a dream come true,” a smiling Cottingham said after getting out of the firetruck.
During the ceremony, Child Care Network Executive Director Kate Garrity announced Cottingham as the winner of this year’s Kids Fest T-shirt contest and presented his original drawing with the theme “Build your way into Kids Fest” in a frame.
The day before, she had surprised him in his classroom at school, letting him know he was the winner and telling him he would arrive at the event on a firetruck.
“It was a low chance (of winning) because it was the whole town, and I think my idea kind of stuck,” Cottingham said. “I was happy that I won. When they went into my classroom and told me, I was surprised because I forgot about it. It was good knowing that I won.”
When he first learned of the contest, Cottingham said he wanted to participate because he thought it would be a good challenge. The theme is picked each year by students involved in YoJack, a youth leadership program for eighth-graders around Jackson County.
“I had an idea of 3-D letters because I thought that would make it pop a little bit,” he said of the lettering on his design, which also included drawings of Legos.
Getting to ride on a firetruck wasn’t new to Cottingham, as he said his grandmother is a firefighter.
Still, though, he summed up what he got to do Saturday as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience.
“It was cool, and I also liked seeing people I knew waving. That was fun,” he said.
Kids Fest, on the other hand, was a new experience for him.
“Just checking out everything and looking at all of the cool stuff that’s going to be happening,” Cottingham said of what he was looking forward to Saturday. “Kids can see stuff and they could be more involved in what the county is doing. … This is a big opportunity for people to come once a year because it’s free to go. You can come here and do a family activity, and I think that’s good for the community for awareness to help kids.”
At the end of the opening ceremony, Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson proclaimed April 29, 2023, Day of the Young Child in Seymour. Kids Fest started as a Leadership Jackson County program in 1998 and was held annually until 2019, and then the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be canceled the next three years.
Nicholson said the event, organized by Child Care Network, calls attention to the importance and availability of high-quality early childhood services and programs for all children.
“The future of our community depends on the well-being and quality of the early childhood experiences provided to young children today,” he said. “Let’s all have a good time and enjoy Kids Fest.”
People then went from booth to booth inside the SMS gymnasium picking up information and giveaways from various entities and participating in free activities.
Kids also could take a bicycle safety class and participate in the bike rodeo led by Seymour Police Department Chief Greg O’Brien. After completing that, they received a free bike helmet courtesy of Schneck Medical Center.
Craig and Ashley Gabbard of Houston watched as their son, Lucas Gabbard, who soon turns 6, aced the bike course.
“We go on bike rides every night. We take the dogs for a walk,” Ashley said.
“I like to go fast,” Lucas said, smiling.
“He likes locking the brakes up and sliding, too,” Craig said.
On Saturday, though, with O’Brien watching, Lucas couldn’t go fast. It was all about safely riding a bicycle without hitting orange cones.
“You have to obey the law,” Craig said to his son. “We’re working on learning everything, like to go with traffic instead of against traffic, because when we were younger, we were always taught to go against traffic riding.”
Ashley said it was good for her and Craig to learn something, too.
“We actually did learn some stuff doing it,” she said. “This is our second year coming. I know with COVID and all of that, we couldn’t get to do it for years past, but (Lucas) was excited, and he gets to learn so much.”
For completing the course, Lucas received a certificate and a bike helmet, and on his birthday, May 8, his parents are giving him a bicycle.
Also outside the school Saturday, Touch a Truck was set up for kids to check out a variety of large vehicles up close, Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108 had its trailer set up to give away food and drinks and the Jackson County 4-H Rabbit Club had different breeds of rabbits for kids to pet.
Club member Ashtyn Allman, a fifth-grader at Crothersville Elementary School, said it was good for the club to be involved because it exposed kids to an animal they may not interact with much and it also allowed them to talk about rabbits and 4-H.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “It’s definitely to get more people to come out to be part of the rabbit club, to have people come look at all of the rabbits today. Our rabbits get used to different kinds of people, and I think it’s just great for our rabbits, too.”