A new Renton River Days schedule, which brought activities for children and adults to the same weekend, proved successful this year.
While the official count isn’t in, numbers are expected to surpass last year’s turnout by thousands, said event chair Jerry Kavesh.
“I think we got our best festival ever,” he said.
From walking through Liberty Park, which hosted most of the activities, the crowds appeared heavier and families lingered longer, said city event organizer Sonja Mejlaender.
A good turnout can also be attributed to warm but not-too-hot weather, which has hurt the festival in the past, she said.
Firemen helped children operate the nozzle on fire houses, creating a glorified “sprinkler” for kids to run through. Little ones chomped on multi-colored snow cones beneath the shade.
Large inflatable slides and playhouses took over a corner of the park. In front of the small stage, bales of hay made seating for little ones.
For about 20 years children’s events have been slowly taken from weekend events and integrated into a Kid’s Day the Wednesday before River Days, Kavesh said.
The slow changed polarized the events between children and adults, who enjoyed the weekend’s craft vendors and bands, he said.
This year the festival board decided to merge Kid’s Day by adding inflatables and crafts to River Days. It made the weekend more well-rounded for families, Kavesh said.
The change was also a way to do more with less money, he said.
The Wenatchee Youth Circus moved to the weekend with Kid’s Day and was offered the chance do a third show Saturday morning.
This was the circus’ 22nd year in Renton, said trainer Brandon Brown.
“The audience is why we come to Renton,” he said, pointing to a large grass field that functions as event seating. “We pack it in.”
Allied Arts gave parents and children an activity to do together, offering kids Crayon Fest, while parents entered the chalk-art contest.
“Chalk art is just going crazy today,” said Vicki Navarro, Allied Arts president, adding that about 50 adults joined the competition.
Parents appeared more relaxed than in year’s past, voices were excited not stressed, Kavesh said.
“It’s nice that such a large city maintains such a small-town feel,” said Renton’s David Herron.
Kavesh agreed.
“The city said many years ago that this is who they want to be,” he said.
