Hundreds of parents and children of all ages attended the fourth annual Central Kitsap Family Night Tuesday afternoon.
The Kitsap County Fairgrounds President’s Hall was packed with informational booths, activities and plenty of entertainment for those in attendance.
Former Central Kitsap Reporter staff writer Paul Balcerak returned to Kitsap County Tuesday to emcee CK Family Night for the second consecutive year. Balcerak now works on Sound Publishing newspapers’ Web sites as the assistant editor of Dynamic Media in Auburn.
A wide variety of organizations set up booths at CK Family Night. Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue made address signs for parents at their booth while Caring Clowns International roamed the President’s Hall making balloon animals for children.
“We’re not just any clowns, trust me,” Caring Clowns International president and executive director Jed “Duffy” Selter said.
Caring Clowns International is an all-volunteer nonprofit group that raises money for various organizations and causes around the world.
Silverdale Beach Hotel General Manager Chris Koebelin set up a booth at CK Family Night to promote the third annual Silverdale 3 on 3 Shootout scheduled for August.
“Family Night’s been great. This is our first year having a booth here,” he said.
While promoting the basketball event, Koebelin said it was great to watch the children and parents have a good time.
“It’s great getting to see all the kids,” he said.
William Cole, 4, of Bremerton said his favorite thing at CK Family Night was playing with a toy train set.
William’s mother, Michelle, said she and William attended CK Family Night in the past and keep coming back year after year.
“We enjoy the bingo and just hanging out. We enjoy coming and it’s something to do,” she said.
Michelle said the information booths also are helpful because she learns about different activities her son is eligible to participate in.
Balcerak handed out several raffle prize throughout the event, including the grand prize: a one-night stay in the country suite at Haus Rohrbach Pension bed and breakfast in Leavenworth.
Amanda James, 10, of Poulsbo, won a pair of tickets to a Kitsap BlueJackets game and she couldn’t have been happier.
“I’ve never been to a baseball game,” James said with a smile.
The Brownsville Ele-mentary School choir sang some tunes at CK Family Night and the Filipino Ancestry International Dancers performed the “Bamboo Dance” and taught several brave crowd members the dance as well. The SpecTAPulars from the Bremerton Senior Center performed several tap numbers to round out the evening’s entertainment.