This fair especially for families
Family-A-Fair a Medina County tradition for 25 years
Jordynn Perry (left) and Isabella Mitchell are entranced by the performance of Jake the Juggler at the Family-A-Fair. Jesse Borgelt (back) and his 3-year-old son Vincent also seem impressed with the show. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
Young Kaidon Pringle (left) watches in fascination as Brian Wiles twists balloons into the shape of an animal at the 25th Annual Family-A-Fair at the Medina County Fairgrounds. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
MEDINA – Every year for the past 25 years, hundreds of children and their parents are treated to a special, free event called Family-A-Fair.
This year’s event was held April 29 at the Community Center on the Medina County Fairgrounds.
Family-A-Fair owes its popularity to lots of hands-on activities, wholesome entertainment and plenty of food available at moderate prices.
A far cry from other commercial events, almost everything at Family-A-Fair is free. There is no fee for parking or admission.
“Every exhibitor features some kind of hands-on activity for children,” said Cassie Shaum, president of the all-volunteer Family-A-Fair committee. “Our focus is togetherness and an event in which parents and children can engage in activities they don’t usually get an opportunity to share.”
Shaum is a social worker at Community Action Wayne-Medina whose attachment to Family-A-Fair is long standing.
“My mom took my sister and me to Family-A-Fair when we were kids and I was happy to get involved as a volunteer when I got older,” she said.
Among the new fans of Family-A-Fair is Maya Becker, an 8-year-old from Medina.
“It’s fun and you get a lot of free stuff,” she said.
Isabella Mitchell, a 6-year-old who tried her hand at juggling, made her second visit to Family-A-Fair this year and would recommend it to others.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “My favorite part was the magician. I learned how to do a trick.”
Education is one of the motives for many of the vendors and sponsors who take part in Family-A-Fair. That is especially true of the Medina County District Library, which has been a regular exhibitor at the event for years.
“It’s a perfect venue for us,” said children’s librarian Linda Sutliff, who staffed the library station at Family-A-Fair. “We like to reach out to families to let them know what services the library offers and this is a good place to do it,” she said. “We offer some fun activities for the kids and meet a lot of new people.”
Other key supporters of Family-A-Fair, include the Medina County Fair Board, which allows the event to take place in the Community Center at the Fairgrounds rent free. The Medina County Breakfast Kiwanis Club is another key event sponsor.
The United Way was also a supporter of Family-A-Fair and a beneficiary since this year the event was used to draw attention to the agency’s new volunteer corps. The volunteer corps got special attention this year from Leadership Medina County, whose most recent class chose to boost the volunteer corps as a class project.
Debbie Boehmke, a program manager for United Way, said that volunteer opportunities are posted on the United Way website as well as contact information for organizations in need of those volunteers.
This year’s event was held April 29 at the Community Center on the Medina County Fairgrounds.
Family-A-Fair owes its popularity to lots of hands-on activities, wholesome entertainment and plenty of food available at moderate prices.
A far cry from other commercial events, almost everything at Family-A-Fair is free. There is no fee for parking or admission.
“Every exhibitor features some kind of hands-on activity for children,” said Cassie Shaum, president of the all-volunteer Family-A-Fair committee. “Our focus is togetherness and an event in which parents and children can engage in activities they don’t usually get an opportunity to share.”
Shaum is a social worker at Community Action Wayne-Medina whose attachment to Family-A-Fair is long standing.
“My mom took my sister and me to Family-A-Fair when we were kids and I was happy to get involved as a volunteer when I got older,” she said.
Among the new fans of Family-A-Fair is Maya Becker, an 8-year-old from Medina.
“It’s fun and you get a lot of free stuff,” she said.
Isabella Mitchell, a 6-year-old who tried her hand at juggling, made her second visit to Family-A-Fair this year and would recommend it to others.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “My favorite part was the magician. I learned how to do a trick.”
Education is one of the motives for many of the vendors and sponsors who take part in Family-A-Fair. That is especially true of the Medina County District Library, which has been a regular exhibitor at the event for years.
“It’s a perfect venue for us,” said children’s librarian Linda Sutliff, who staffed the library station at Family-A-Fair. “We like to reach out to families to let them know what services the library offers and this is a good place to do it,” she said. “We offer some fun activities for the kids and meet a lot of new people.”
Other key supporters of Family-A-Fair, include the Medina County Fair Board, which allows the event to take place in the Community Center at the Fairgrounds rent free. The Medina County Breakfast Kiwanis Club is another key event sponsor.
The United Way was also a supporter of Family-A-Fair and a beneficiary since this year the event was used to draw attention to the agency’s new volunteer corps. The volunteer corps got special attention this year from Leadership Medina County, whose most recent class chose to boost the volunteer corps as a class project.
Debbie Boehmke, a program manager for United Way, said that volunteer opportunities are posted on the United Way website as well as contact information for organizations in need of those volunteers.
