Annual Carnival Gives Kids A Fun Lesson In Safety

Sean McFarlain popped out of a chair at the camouflage face painting booth and asked to look in a mirror.

The 6-year-old had just had his face painted in green, brown and black by Keith Garrison.

There was no mirror, so a television screen had to do.

McFarlain was one of thousands of children running around the parking lot and front lawn at Valley Hospital and Medical Center, participating in the 10th annual Kids’ Carnival of Safety on Thursday. He was one of hundreds of children who had their faces painted by Garrison and two other instructors from the survival school at Fairchild Air Force Base.

“We have been pretty popular,” Garrison said. Three lines six or seven children deep formed behind the three face painting tables.

McFarlain’s reason for getting his face painted?

“I watch G.I. Joe sometimes,” he said.

Another line began to form down the driveway that snaked in front of the hospital. The line came from the back of a Spokane Ambulance.

Tim Loncon, a supervisor for Spokane Ambulance, took pulses and answered questions about the ambulance.

“Not as fast as you think,” Loncon told a child who asked how fast the ambulance went. “It just drives like a normal truck.”

In the rear parking lot, the Sheriff’s Department ran a bicycle rodeo and manned a drug and gang awareness booth.

“Our objective is to show kids what the drugs and the weapons look like and to show them they are bad for them,” said detective Rick Van Leuven. “And if they see them, they should tell their parents, their teachers or a sheriff’s deputy - somebody that they trust.”

The drugs on display included mushrooms, marijuana and cocaine. The weapons ranged from knives and brass knuckles to an assault rifle. All of the drugs and weapons displayed in the cases were confiscated in Spokane County.

“It helps the parents know what’s going on around them so they know what to talk to their kids about,” Van Leuven said. “A lot of times kids know what is going on with drugs and gangs, but parents don’t.”

Traci Lawson and 13 children from the Harvard Park Childcare Center were among the many groups attending the carnival.

“They learned a lot of safety lessons,” Lawson said. “They asked a lot of questions about things they knew already so they were also refreshed about a lot of things.”

Among the other events were drawings for a bicycle helmet every 30 minutes, musical seat belts and wheel of safety.

The crash test dummies and a handful of cartoon characters mingled with children and their parents. The characters offered hugs, high fives and stickers.

Shade was at a premium. The day was warm and sunny and by day’s end more than 5,000 people turned out.

Nearly 500 volunteers from the hospital and community combined to run the event. Representatives from various agencies filled the 56 booths.

Organizer Lynda Cox said the hospital’s goal is to make sure the kids learn something new every year.

“As they go from here to here, they should take something new away,” she said, raising her hand from waste-high to head-high.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo