Born Learning featival Saturday
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 1, 2012 1:46 PM
Born Learning Young Children's Festival, planned for Saturday in Herman Park, promises to be the best yet, organizers say.
"This year we are having an absolutely huge festival -- vendors, community agencies, outside entertainment and activities from across the state coming to Goldsboro," said Whitney Jansta, community services coordinator at Partnership for Children of Wayne County.
This marks the seventh year for the event, funded through United Way, she said. It will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
"Born Learning is a national campaign that's sponsored locally by the United Way," she said. "The purpose is to encourage parents to engage and interact with their children, from birth to age 5.
"The idea of the Born Learning Festival is to encourage those interactions and those learning activities between parents and their children at a very young age."
The family event promotes parental involvement, and while geared primarily to the youngest population, also incorporates siblings of those children, she added.
There will be 36 vendors on hand, representing different agencies and local businesses, Mrs. Jansta said.
"They all will have something to offer and each will have activities and encourage interactions between families and their children," she said.
The Kiwanis train will also be running that day, offering free rides.
Among the entertainment scheduled will be "Pamlico Joe," an environmental singer from the coast whose tag line is "the singing musician with a mission."
"The Scrap Exchange" from Durham will also be featured. The mobile art project incorporates a variety of recycled materials, allowing children and parents to create projects to take with them.
"And everything is free," Mrs. Jansta said. "We will have free snacks. The public library is reading stories and we will have costumed characters, including 'Mouse' from (the book) 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' and 'Pig' from 'If You Give a Pig a Pancake.'"
Goldsboro Martial Arts will give a demonstration and Stepping Stone Stables will be bringing a petting zoo. Plus, there will be a "bouncy house" and inflatables.
The event is not just about fun and entertainment, though, Mrs. Jansta said.
It is also an opportunity to pick up materials about local resources and parenting education.
"At each of the booths, they'll have activities for the kids and vendors will also have information for the parents at the same time," she said. "The Partnership booth will provide information on health, prenatal education and Born Learning information about those first five years."
Since being introduced in 2006, Born Learning Festival continues to grow in popularity and support from the community as well as businesses and other agencies, Mrs. Jansta said.
"We're looking forward to a great day and having as many people come out as possible."