Schenectady celebrates ninth annual Karen B. Johnson Family Fun Day

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (WRGB) — The ninth annual Karen B. Johnson Family Fun Day, initiated by former Schenectady Mayor Karen Johnson and different group members, occurred on Saturday afternoon, aiming to foster group engagement and wellness. The occasion featured enjoyable, video games, fishing, meals, and music to unite the Schenectady group.

Camille Sasinowski, a neighborhood chief, highlighted the occasion’s significance for kids. “It’s a great carryover, because the kids, once they’re out of school, then they start coming to the summer camps here,” she stated. “And then it’s a carryover, and they see, make new friends, and then they’re seeing their friends too. And then once the summer camp is over, it’s back to school. And it’s a good transition for them, and a good balance, and it benefits them all.”

Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy emphasised the town’s funding in park upgrades over the previous decade. “We’ve been investing over the last decade in our parks, doing upgrades in the playground equipment,” he stated. “As the building was here, facilities have been put in. The lake behind me has been upgraded. It’s got a lot of fish in it.”

One of the occasion’s highlights was the “Learn to Fish” exercise, the place youngsters realized to hook a worm, forged, and reel in native fish species earlier than releasing them. Nicole LaBlanc, a volunteer with the fisheries area 4, harassed the significance of outside interplay for kids. “The number one thing is to help encourage children, especially at a young age, to get outside to interact with nature to understand what species are in their environment and, um, how to interact with them safely,” she stated. “You know it, helps them understand the importance of, you know, human interaction with the environment.”

Organizers hope to broaden the occasion subsequent 12 months, aiming to draw extra distributors and over 1,000 attendees for the tenth annual celebration.