MCPD hosts annual Hug the Earth Festival
Staff and volunteers from the Miami County Park District hosted the annual Hug the Earth Festival at Lost Creek Reserve on Saturday, April 18.
Rain showers didn’t stop a relatively large crowd from attending the event, which featured games and activities, demonstrations, a farm animal petting zoo, food trucks, a concert by the Banana Slug String Band, and a presentation with representatives from the Columbus Zoo.
The festival, which has been running for over 20 years, also highlights adventure-based activities, including permanent attractions like the zipline and climbing wall at Lost Creek Reserve. Another theme of the event is superheroes, and the correlation between superhero powers and the real animal powers they are based on.
“The theme of the Hug the Earth Festival is to give people an opportunity to experience things outdoors, and things that are adventure based, that maybe they wouldn’t get to do,” Miami County Park District Executive Director Scott Myers said.
“The other thing is we provide an opportunity for kids to have an experience with superheroes, and how the superheroes’ superpowers correlate to real-life animal superpowers,” he said.
In addition to park district staff, approximately 70 volunteers also assisted with the event, which normally draws 4,000-5,000 people.
“A lot of our staff are here, and then we have a lot of volunteers to supplement,” Myers said. “The other thing that helps this event go really well is we have a lot of sponsors,” he said. “We have a lot of great sponsors, and local organizations who support this event, because they really want to help kids get outside and have great adventures and experiences.”
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