Children turn out in droves for North Bend summer events

Aug. 16—More than 100 children in North Bend got out of their homes over the weekend for a movie, close-up look at big rigs and food and drinks, and no one paid a dime.

The festivities Friday and Saturday were the latest free events hosted by the city of North Bend thanks to a K-12 summer grant from the state of Oregon.

Best of all, the fun is just beginning, with more events added in the coming days and weeks. Stephanie Kilmer has helped set and run the free summer events, and she said the goal is get as many children as possible out for some fun.

To reach as many children as possible, North Bend is providing free bus rides for many of the events. Kilmer said her goal is to get the word out to all children in the city.

"I think this will help, having these activities open to everyone," Kilmer said. "When you have a kid that's never been to the beach, and he's 7 years old and lived here his whole life, that's amazing. Even if it's one kid you can reach, it's worthwhile."

On Friday, the city hosted a free movie in the park, and close to 100 children, most with their parents came to watch.

On Saturday, the fun turned to the North Bend Community Center as the city hosted "Big Rigs." During the event, children had the opportunity to look at climb on and around vehicles like the city's fire engine, a police car, tractors, an ambulance and even a log truck loaded with 90,000 pounds of wood.

That was just the beginning. Inside the community center, children could dig for toys, draw pictures, get their face painted and even get a balloon animal made.

There was also free food with hot dogs, Philly cheesesteaks, popcorn, sodas, Kona Ice and much more. And thanks to the grant, all of it was free.

Kayla Quillin brought the log truck from her dad's company, Richard Quilling Trucking. She said the children were intrigued by the massive logs loaded onto the truck.

"So far, they seem to like them," Quillin said. "They're almost scared the them until they go up and touch them. Then they light up."

Quillin has worked for her dad's company for almost a decade, most of it as a truck driver. She said the challenge is not what many would expect.

"Being in the woods and sliding down dirt roads is not bad," she said. "It's when you get into town and hit traffic."

Over the many events, the one that stuck out to Kilmer was a trip to the Charleston Marine Life Center.

"At the Charleston Marine Life Center, I think some kids founds a career path," Kilmer said.

With every summer event free, Kilmer said she hoped more children would participate.

"I think it's had an impact and the families come back because they realize all the barriers are gone," she said.

Removing the barriers and making it easy for all children to participate was one of the key goals North Bend set when coming up with the summer activities, City Administrator David Milliron said.

"Our goal is to get as many children as possible," he said. "That's why we're running the buses. Some people don't have transportation, so we are running the buses."

For a complete list of upcoming events and details on registration and bus rides, visit https://www.northbendoregon.us/newsview.aspx?nid=7301&fbclid=IwAR0XWeMEB59HI9UmiaUTN27cEgkriHmkVLl55ylPYXWVT4slHcd-DP0pdM0