Worthington Area YMCA to host Healthy Kids Day on Saturday

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WORTHINGTON — With numerous activities scheduled, Saturday’s Healthy Kids Day will provide fun-filled activities for area youths.

“There are a lot of good activities going on, and it’s free,” said YMCA Health and Fitness Director Ryan Seykora. “It’s for members and non-members, you don’t have to be a member of the YMCA. We want family time, we want kids and parents to come together and do something together.”

The event, which will be at the Worthington Area YMCA, is from 10 a.m. until noon.

“We want to provide free activities to teach healthy habits to kids and families and encourage active play and to be physically active,” Seykora said.

The event is open to all boys and girls ages 4 and up.

“What we’ll do is we’ll give away 50 free shirts to the first kids in attendance,” Seykora said. “At about 10:15 or 10:30, we’ll be doing a free Zumba class for kids in our gym, and it will be about 30 minutes long.”

Along with a Zumba class, many other activities are scheduled during the two-hour event.

The Worthington Police Department will bring in a police car for children, while D.A.R.E. officer Bob Fritz will be available to license bicycles.

“The Optimist Club will be giving away one free bicycle to a boy and one free bicycle for a girl,” Seykora said. “What we’ll do is we’ll have people register when they get here. People don’t have to be present to win; we’ll draw after the event is over. The Optimist Club will also provide free apples and string cheese for everybody.”

But that won’t be all for food during the day.

Hy-Vee Registered Dietician Greta Farley will be on hand to provide a healthy snack for the kids.

“Greta has not told me what the snack is yet,” Seykora said. “Last year, it was a healthy trail mix. What she was trying to do was something that’s easy for kids to make at home and easy for parents to shop for. She’s kind of changing it up. This year, it’s another quick snack, and she started mentioning it to me, but I told her to surprise me.”

All participants will have the chance to do some arts and crafts.

Staff from the library will be on hand to lead an activity.

“Last year, they did a little painting activity, which was very well received,” Seykora said. “I don’t know what they are going to do this year, but they are very creative.”

The Worthington Montessori School is also going to provide a fun, interactive activity.

“It’s something like a make your own bubbles type of thing,” Seykora said. “It sounds like it’s a pretty cool deal, and original.”

In the kids’ gym at the YMCA, the sportwall will be open to allow kids and parents to have some physical activity together.

“Our theme this year is, ‘Take on Summer,’” Seykora said. “Summer is the time for kids to get up and move and get out and grow and experience new things. But sometimes when the school year ends, so does the children’s exposure to activities that stimulate the body and the mind. Hopefully Healthy Kids Day and the activities and events provided will help inspire kids and families to take advantage of the summer and be active.”

First State Bank Southwest, Minnesota West Community and Technical College and Sanford will all be on hand to talk about programs for youths, as well.

But the whole key for the day is to promote healthy living, as well as have some fun at the same time.

“We just want to make sure kids remain physically active,” Seykora said. “That’s one thing that’s a big challenge.”

Daily Globe Community Content Coordinator Aaron Hagen can be reached at 376-7323.

Tags: news, worthington, ymca, youths, health, education