Half-Pint Hullabaloo 2009 at Westerville Recreation Center

We went to the annual Half-Pint Hullabaloo held by the Westerville Recreation Center last Saturday (21st March, 2009).  Here’s what the event is about although frankly, because I had never been, I did think that the description was still too vague but seemed interesting enough to go,

The Half-Pint Hullabaloo is an annual award winning event that features activities for parents and children, ages 1 through 5. Participate in exciting activities that cost little or nothing to create.  This event will cost $3 per child and is collected at the door. This children's festival begins at 9:30 AM and ends at Noon at the Westerville Community Center.

 

Turns out it’s like an activity and entertainment fair where there are booths set-up and all the kids can do different activities at each table.  Of course, Naia had more fun than Gianna, who was just so content to be carried by me throughout this event.  (Reminder to self:  Bring stroller next time)

Naia got her face painted (twice!) and she got a glitter tattoo on her arm.

 

 

 

  

 

Some of the booth activities included hopscotch,

 

 

hands-on fun like playing with play doh and gooey things

 

 

 

football (soccer) and basketball setups, (check out the form on my girl!)

 

 

 

 . . . amongst other activities like craft stations, an area where you could ride your choice of a small vehicle through  a circuit, and a fishing game where you would cast your line over a prop "ocean" and when you felt a tug on your line, you could pull up your fishing rod to find a treat on the other end.  Oh you bet Naia had fun.

 

The entire venue was so family-friendly - lots of room for strollers to go around, lots of seating areas to rest, and they also had a good and rest area set-up where you could purchase snacks and drinks and watch the entertainment show.

 

 

And of course, if we are at the Westerville Recreation Center, we always have to make a stop at the playground, if only for 5-10 minutes.  (Can you see my poor lil' munchkin in the bottom corner of the photo trying to catch up with her sister?)

   

 

 

We did not swim that day but right beside the indoor playground are the large windows looking into the pool area.  This is where the girls have their swim classes on Tuesdays.  The reflection kind of makes it hard to see but the indoor section extends to the far back windows, and way over to the left is another large pool for lane-swimming.  Huge.  Maybe there are larger swimming pools but for a girl from Singapore, this is pretty huge.

 

 

I really do enjoy living in Westerville now that we have been here for close to 2 years and appreciate the services the city provides, and the awesome recreation center.  Between hourly childcare so moms and dads can take classes, to fun events they hold throughout the year, the well-organized and variety of their classes and seminars, not to mention their birthday party packages (which we took advantage of for Naia's recent birthday party), I cannot rave enough about the convenience and support a Westerville family gets from the city.  Maybe this is one of the contributing factors to why they earned a place on Money Magazine's Top 100 Places to Live.  Check them out if you get a chance:

 

Westerville Community Center
350 N. Cleveland Ave.
Westerville, OH 43082
Phone: (614 )901-6500
Fax: (614) 901-6523 (Administration)
SportsLine: (614) 901-6888
TDD: (614) 901-6413

Comments

[Trish]

What a beautiful community center. My kids would love the pool! It looks like you all had a wonderful day there. Glad you shared.

[new york hotel]

Hey. amazing post. The pictures are wonderful.there are so many palces in the city to spend a wonderful day with the kids. even during vacation time. i love it!