Organizers estimate 10,000 people attended the festival on October 24, 2019. Here, some of them watch as the AirLife Georgia medical chopper comes in for a landing at the Habersham County Fairgrounds. (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)
Thousands of people attended the 13th Annual Habersham County E-911 Children’s Fun Festival Thursday in Clarkesville. Organizers held the free public event at the Habersham County Fairgrounds. Children and some adults came dressed in their Halloween costumes. They filled their buckets and bags with candy at displays set up by emergency personnel and businesses.
Organizers estimate around 10,000 people attended the event, not including vendors. Around 100 area businesses participated along with local and state law enforcement, fire, emergency medical and 911 personnel.
“We are overwhelmed at the number of attendees,” says Habersham County E-911 Director Lynn Smith. She and her staff work year-round to plan and coordinate the annual event. Still, Smith stresses, “It would not be the success it is without the participation from each public safety department and the community businesses.”
And what a success it is. From its humble beginnings thirteen years ago at the 911 Center off of Chase Road in Cornelia to the mammoth fall festival it’s become, this event continues to entertain, inspire, and inform the community.
Reality playground
The E-911 Children’s Fun Festival provides more than just a safe place where kids can trick-or-treat and families can have fun. It also provides life-saving lessons.
Firefighters teach people how to escape from burning buildings. Police use car crash simulators to drive home the importance of wearing seatbelts. Electrical linemen teach about the dangers of electricity. The lessons are many and varied.
So are the vehicles.
From air and ground ambulances to Humvees and patrol cars and big red firetrucks, each year the festival transforms the fairgrounds into a reality playground. Add to that games, exotic animals, a dunk tank, hayride, and rock climbing wall and you’ve got a first responder encounter of the best kind. This is an event where the public can meet those who protect and serve them outside of a crisis or emergency. It fosters better community relations and makes people, especially children, more comfortable around those in uniform.
Big turnout. Big ‘Thank You!’
Based on the estimates, approximately 4,000 more people attended this year’s festival than last. Reflecting on the rapid growth that forced organizers to move the festival to the fairgrounds in the first place, one first responder says, “It looks like we’re about to outgrow it here, too.”
One thing organizers will never outgrow is their deep appreciation for all the volunteers and donors who make the event possible. Director Smith says, “I am humbled to have such great people working behind the scene and the backing of this beautiful community. To each, THANK YOU!”
Click HERE to visit the fun fest photo gallery
