Inclusive, interactive family day ahead

This year’s Children’s Day event in Thames will be four hours of “everything all at once”.
Held annually on the first Sunday in March, Children’s Day is a nationwide event that is put on locally by CAPS Hauraki.
It’s a free, fun day out for all members of the whanau, from young infants, to adults, to grandparents.
Last year’s event came at the perfect time, CAPS Hauraki’s service support team leader Alison Turoa said, with what “felt like thousands” of people attending.
“Last year was particularly important because we’d just gone through Cyclone Gabrielle and we managed to get a big enough break in the weather to be able to hold it. Not only that, we had Covid the two years previously, and so it was such an important year last year for the community to be able to attend the event.”
Not only will there be attractions such as a climbing wall, inflatable basketball hoop, mechanical surfboard, and a race car brought down from the Meremere Dirt Track, Alison said the day would also include classic Kiwi games such as egg and spoon races and tag.
There will also be balloon making, face painting, and live music, and visits from the fire brigade and local police.
The event is completely free.
“The whole purpose of Children’s Day is to have a fun, interactive family day where families can come and celebrate each other,” Alison said.
“It’s amazing to see so many people together in one space. There are parents and caregivers and aunties and uncles who walk around with as big of a smile on their face as what the children do.”
DETAILS: Children’s Day will be held on Sunday, March 3 from 10am to 2pm at Victoria Park in Thames. This is a completely free event. All families are welcome. For any updates regarding the weather and bus routes, follow CAPS Hauraki [Safe kids, thriving families] on Facebook.