Learning to be safe doesn’t have to be boring.
That’s the goal of the annual festival “Playing It Safe,” sponsored by Carle Foundation Hospital and Champaign County SAFE KIDS for the 14th consecutive year. Mark your calendar for this interactive, free event — which even features free food! — to be held Saturday, June 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Champaign County Fairgrounds in Urbana.
Former Illini basketball standout Jenna Smith plays a safety game with two little girls during last year's Playing It Safe.
Playing It Safe brings together an astounding group of organizations that address a variety of safety issues — Internet, seat belt and car seats, fire, sun, guns, wildlife, pet, safety; seat belt and car seat; water safety and more — all in the name of fun. And this year kids will have another incentive to explore everything Playing It Safe has to offer: when they visit five learning stations, they will earn activities from Action Inflatables and Mega Events. There will be a bounce house and caterpillar inflatable along with a slide from Urbana Fire Rescue.
One of the most popular stations at Playing It Safe is the Bike Rodeo, an obstacle course. The various activities focus on different skills, including maneuvering around cones, staying between the lines, doing figure eights, and more. Last year, almost 500 children participated; this year, the Bike Rodeo organizers hope to exceed that number.
“It’s a way for kids to figure out how much they don’t know in a fun way. Kids get on their bikes and they take off and they think they’re invincible,” said Rose M. Hudson, Project Co-Chair of the Champaign-Urbana Safe Routes to School Project, which sponsors the Bicycle Rodeo. “They really are learning that they’re not in as much control as they think they are which is a good thing because the next time they get on their bike they’ll think about it more.”
This year, families are encouraged to ride their bikes to the Fairgrounds and will be able to park them in a brand new bicycle corral. Children don’t have to ride their bikes to the event to participate in the Bike Rodeo; any child can participate, as bikes will be made available to ride for beginners on up. Helmets will also be available for use, as no child will be allowed on the course without one. In addition, brand new Bell helmets will be for sale in a variety of sizes (even adult) for just $10 apiece.
“We have several people in our group that have been properly trained to fit a helmet,” Hudson said. “It’s one of those aha moments because for the kids or the parents, they have no clue what they’re doing — they just throw it on, buckle it and off they go.”
This year, one boy and one girl will even be able to take home a brand new bike. There will be hourly prize drawings throughout the event. At the end there will be two grand prize drawings — for a boy’s and a girl’s bicycle.
The free hot dog lunch, sponsored by Sonic, will be available fom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (while supplies last).
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