Free Bellingham YMCA event Saturday offers healthy fun for kids

Activities from water safety to rock climbing to preparing healthful meals will be featured in a special YMCA event this weekend.

Healthy Kids Day is free from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at Whatcom Family YMCA, 1256 N. State St. The theme, “Keeping Kids Safe through the Summer Months,” offers a fresh approach to the YMCA’s 25th annual summer programming push, said organizer Lynda Purdie.

“It’s going to feel new to most people,” Purdie said. “We will have a variety of activities available for people to try, including the climbing wall. In addition, we are inviting other local organizations to come, too. The entire Y will be involved, except for the weight room.”

Featured activities include a bike-safety course, futsal and dodgeball, rock climbing, water safety, and parent-child Zumba. Common Threads will provide information on healthful meal planning, a juggler will perform, and there will be an area for games, crafts, art, and information on the public libraries’ summer reading programs.

There also be will be information on a variety of subjects — such as the importance of sunscreen, children’s dental health, and how to take advantage of the area’s parks and trail system.

“We’re trying to look at the whole person and not just the physical side of it,” said Purdie, who’s also the Adventure Camp director.

Some activities — such as the bike-safety course — may be weather-dependent, she said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Free Bellingham YMCA event Saturday offers healthy fun for kids."