Some of the few hundred children who made it to Safe Kids Day get a close look at a UNC Hospitals helicopter on the field between Aycock Recreation Complex and Aycock Elementary School on Thursday.
The Henderson-Vance Safe Kids organization prepared for a big crowd at Safe Kids Day at Aycock Recreation Complex from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday. But it wasn’t to be.
The local public safety turnout included police, firefighters, state park rangers, state Highway Patrol troopers and the North Carolina Underwater Response Team. UNC Hospitals sent a helicopter and an ambulance.
Information booths in the gym ranged from the Vance County Humane Society to the Vance Department of Social Services. Vance County Schools deployed Buster, the talking school bus. Lighthouse Entertainment provided a moonwalk, and DJ Alan Norwood provided the music. WIZS-AM (1450) broadcast live from the gym floor for three hours.
Three children walked away with free bicycles as door prizes, and everyone walked away with all of the hot dogs, chips and soft drinks they could consume.
But for some reason, an event that we’re reliably told was packed a year ago drew disappointing attendance this year. We don’t have hard numbers, but we know this: The event flier promised hot dogs to the first 450 people; dozens and dozens of hot dogs and bags of chips were left at the end of the night.
Here’s a quick sample of what you missed if you didn’t make it to Safe Kids Day.
Public safety vehicles await inspection in the Aycock parking lot.
A Lighthouse Entertainment moonwalk is the center of attention inside. Information booths lined the edges of the court.
The Safe Kids Day events included water safety demonstrations led by the North Carolina Underwater Response Team, which advised that the first two options when a person needs help in the water are to reach out something the person can grab and to throw out a floatation device. Even something as simple as a closed milk jug filled with air will keep a person from sinking. Here, two Aycock lifeguards demonstrate that if you must go in the water after a person, bring something for the victim to grab.