Mountain festival brings out the kid in all

Two-day event features BMX show

By Owen Boss

PRINCETON — As part of the ongoing Fall Festival, Wachusett Mountain hosted the 18th annual KidsFest this past weekend, offering hundreds of families across the region two full days of music, food, and fun. The event, which is sponsored in part by Price Chopper supermarkets, included several live performers, a climbing wall, food tents and an indoor fair of product samples. According to Amanda Campbell special events and marketing coordinator for the mountain, attendance for the event has been consistently growing because the festival has more to offer each year. “This is a staple event, and since Price Chopper has gotten involved it has grown considerably,” said Ms. Campbell. “We have 12 Price Chopper vendors and something like 30 kid-oriented vendors and probably 10 sponsor vendors, so there is a lot.” The two-day event offered children the opportunity to get involved in pony rides, hay rides, a moon bounce, magic shows and even ride the lift to the top of the mountain. “There is so much for the kids to do here today, we really have a lot to offer,” said Ms. Campbell. “So far it has been really good, the weather has cooperated and the kids seem to be having a really great time.” Among the most popular events at the festival was the Impact BMX Bike Stunt Show, something owner Josh Kirtland said has been showcased all across New England. “We’ve been together as a group under this name for about two years, but the business before this that I bought had been around for about 20 years,” said Mr. Kirtland. “We do a lot of shows like this, we have performed at NBA halftime shows and have been coming to KidsFest for the last 10 years.” Although the performance was pretty much business as usual, Mr. Kirtland said they tried to work in a special message for the kids in the crowd. “In our show we perform basic BMX tricks and things like that,” he said. “Because it’s KidsFest, we try to work in a bike safety message about safety equipment for the kids.” Sharon Cuniffe, a Princeton resident, said she brought her daughter Abby to the event for the first time three years ago and she has been coming back ever since. “We just have so much fun when we come to KidsFest,” said Ms. Cuniffe. “It may be called KidsFest, but it definitely isn’t just an event for the kids; we can let them get on rides and watch shows but afterwards there is a ton of free samples inside for parents.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 9/22/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 224)