t CK Family Night a first for many.

With the Central Kitsap Reporter’s own Paul Balcerak at the helm, the third annual Central Kitsap Family Night went off without a hitch Thursday.

Families gathered together at the President’s Hall at Kitsap County Fairgrounds to listen to good tunes, play some bingo and see what Kitsap County has to offer.

Balcerak served as host for the evening of fun, giving away various door prizes and introducing special guests Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown and Central Kitsap School District Superintendent Greg Lynch.

The Fairview Junior High School jazz band, Clear Creek Elementary School choir and Central Kitsap Junior High School jazz band performed at CK Family Night as did the Filipino Ancestry International Dancers.

Katie Perrone, of Bremerton, brought two of her three children to their first family night Thursday evening.

“They’re having fun. My 8-year-old won a bingo prize already and picked a book,” Perrone said.

Perrone worked at the Kitsap Family Fun Run booth in the resource room and said there was a good mix of informational booths for families to peruse.

“It’s a good representation of what’s going on in the county,” she said.

Kitsap Humane Society staff members to Thunderbird Pro Rodeo cowboys and cowgirls set up booths in the resource room. Kitsap County Traffic Safety Task Force co-ordinator Carolyn Pence manned a booth and brought her 10-year-old daughter, Kathryn, to help out and play some family bingo.

“When there’s family events like this I like her to come and see what the community has to offer,” Pence said.

Kathryn said family bingo was her favorite activity at CK Family Night. She even won a prize, a book from Barnes & Noble which donated the books to be given away as bingo prizes.

Storytellers from Kitsap Regional Library offered story times throughout the event and food was available for purchase from the Central Kitsap PTSA.

The Family Night Initiative began planning CK Family Night several years ago and now many local groups have jumped onboard. CK Family Night is supported by the Kitsap County Commissioners, the Central Kitsap Community Council, Kitsap Mall, Barnes & Noble, the Central Kitsap School District and the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce, among others.

First-time family night attendee Margi Sargent, of Bremerton, brought her 8-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, and 4-year-old son, Andrew, to the President’s Hall Thursday. Sargent said she and her children were pleased with the event.

“I think it’s really nice. My kids especially enjoy the bingo. It was hard to tear them away,” she said.

The Sargent family is affiliated with the USS Emory S. Land and is moving out of the area in a couple of weeks, but Sargent said if they weren’t moving, the family would definitely attend CK Family Night next year.

“I would come back if I were here,” Sargent said. “I think anything to get the community together is a good thing.”