Kidsapalooza comes to Auburn's Recreation Park on Sept. 1

The community and children of Auburn will come together Thursday night at Recreation Park as Innervoice Media Inc. and the Auburn Area Recreation and Parks District (ARD) team up to host the second annual Kidsapalooza event. The evening is planned to celebrate students and youth in the Auburn area and will feature music, art, food trucks, obstacle courses and other activities. The family friendly event is scheduled from 4:30-7 p.m. at Recreation Park, 123 Recreation Park Drive. "Our idea was how can we bring the community together in support of children and really support the kids in our community," said Jamie Ross, or J Ross Parelli, who helped organize the event. The event will feature a collaboration of musical adventures, including a BTU Arts Sound Zoo, where students have the opportunity to explore musical instruments. The Auburn Police Department will host an obstacle course, and arts and crafts will be put on by local organizations such as Evangelista Community Relations. Ross said there will be 20-25 vendors, each with some type of interactive activity for children. The event will also feature bingo cards for attendees who fill out their full cards (by visiting all the booths) to get a gift card to Dutch Bros., MOD Pizza or Tango Frozen Yogurt. Activities include coloring, planting, cutting, music exploration, face painting, balloon art and more. "I just want people to come together and celebrate and have fun," Ross said. "We forgot about what community was during COVID. We want people to interact again. Auburn is flourishing with things for youth, and no one knows about it." The event aims to highlight those agencies, from Auburn Gymnastics to Granite Wellness to the Auburn Union School District. "I want families to feel supported, and I want them to know they have resources," Ross said. The event is free except for the food being sold by the food trucks. For more information, visit auburnrec.com.