A winning combination of events

Pandemonium. Chaos. Fun. More than 50 children and about 65 seniors participated in more than 20 activities at the intergenerational summer fair held Aug. 20 at the Annapolis Senior Activity Center. The center also had about 25 volunteers manning the tables. Volunteers included older children and teenagers from the Lothian Church of God who were doing community outreach, senior center volunteers and a few adults from the Lothian Church of God.

One of the most popular events – the cake walk – attracted both young and old. Seniors in their 90s grabbed canes and walkers to try to nab chocolate cakes, peach cobblers, chocolate chip walnut cookies, carrot cakes, angel cakes, and an assortment of other treats. Some youth served as designated walkers for those in wheelchairs. Winners of the more than 17 cakes ranged from those in their 90s to elementary school children, and, yes, some designated walkers won cakes for their seniors too.

Hula hoop demonstrations provided ongoing entertainment. The seniors’ grandchildren and great grandchildren didn’t just watch. They joined right in, showing their own skill at hula hooping.

Hula hoops swirled around waists, necks, arms, and ankles. About a half dozen children kept their hula hoops going for a long time as they walked and stood still on the stage.

In another game, the hula hoops were laid down on the stage and the youngsters ran and jumped from one hula hoop to another.

The company, Hoops U Say in Baltimore, Md., provided the hula hoops. “We make ‘em, sell ‘em, and do lessons, parties and demonstrations,” said Daphna Short, who owns the company.

Many games involved tossing and throwing, including a bean bag toss, potty toss, tin can bowling, bottle ringers, a basketball hoop, and Velcro target range. The children also played mini-golf and spin a wheel. At 2 p.m., when the fair was officially over, children stood in line for one more chance to make a basketball shot.

The children also loved the face painting. By the end of the day, almost every child had their face painted and those who hadn’t were waiting their turn. Some had received more than one face painting, giving the appearance of wearing camouflage paint.

Lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for children and chicken salad sandwiches for adults. For snacks, they could visit the lollipop tree, the sweets table, popcorn popper, snow cone table, or snack bar.

Magic Mike entertained the children with magic tricks and jokes. The children painted bird houses and made picture frames at the craft table. The picture frames were filled with photos from a photo booth. Last, but not least, the children played a numbers game with rubber ducks.

At the end of the day, families had lots of loot to carry home – cakes, bird houses, mini-lights, whistles, sticker and paint books, lollipops, slap on bracelets, gliders, rings, mini-notebooks, rubber snakes and frogs, gelatin-like items, and bracelets.

It was a fun day, a magical day, a day when everyone felt like a winner, a day that the children will remember when they go back to school, and the adults will remember as a wonderful family outing.