Blog: City Blog

Week 3 of Kid A’Riffic: Educational and Fun

Week 3 of Kid A’Riffic Fun in the Park came to World’s Fair Park. Under the iconic Sunsphere, there was a mix of new faces and old, with many families having made plans to attend - and others joining the fun after just happening to walk by.

Kid A'Riffic, Week 3, 2021, at World's Fair Park

Kid A'Riffic, Week 3, 2021, at World's Fair Park

Among the new faces was Noah Frere, who came Wednesday with his daughter. He had heard about Kid A'Riffic just the night before from his sister.

Others stumbled upon Kid A'Riffic by accident. They came to splash in the park fountains, or were out for a walk, when they saw the tents, games and crowd and wandered over out of curiosity.

They were not disappointed.

Shrieks of joy could be heard all over the park as some kids found the perfect book, provided by the Knoxville Police Department. Others planted seeds in pots with the help of Home Depot. Youngsters, proud of their horticultural creations, would go around to the other tents and boast about the watermelons or cantaloupes they've started and soon will be nurturing.

As in past weeks, two of the most popular attractions were the games and activities provided by City Parks and Recreation's KORE team and the bubbles provided by the City of Knoxville.

Other partners Wednesday included the Knox County Public Library and Keep Knoxville Beautiful.

Kid A’Riffic is not only fun, it's also educational. Alanna McKissack, the Executive Director of Keep Knoxville Beautiful, led the kids in an activity where they would sort different items based on whether they thought they belonged in the trash or recycling.

Keep Knoxville Beautiful is a local environmental non-profit who focuses on litter prevention, waste reduction and beautification projects through educational and volunteer opportunities.

Among those who stopped by the Keep Knoxville Beautiful tent were the Freres, who learned a thing or two there.

“I love it," Noah Frere said. "A lot of people don’t know that you can’t recycle stuff like (glossy cardboard) milk containers, and that was very educational.”

McKissack said she loves educating youth about recycling: “I love their curiosity. They’re really interested in learning, and when they do find out about something new, they think it’s just so fantastic.”

Keep Knoxville Beautiful will return for the Kid A’Riffic events for the rest of June and July. The program rotates to a different City park each week.

Come on out for Week 4, as Kid A’Riffic goes to Lakeshore Park on June 23, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Click HERE to see the full Kid A'Riffic schedule.

- Story and photo by Summer in the City intern Kevin Farmer

Posted by evreeland On 18 June, 2021 at 2:18 PM