SRU students help make event fun
SLIPPERY ROCK — During the Winter Festival at Slippery Rock Community Park on Saturday, visitors at the recreation center enjoyed activities from crafts to balloon animals and face painting.
And it was all downhill from there for sledders.
"The activities are great, and the park has a bigger hill than our backyard," said Asia Obman of Harrisville.
"We were riding down the hill on our road. This is a lot safer."
Obman of Smith Road brought her sons Ben and Jakub for a day of fun in the snow.
"We go outside a lot, probably two times a day on snowy days," she said.
The event, sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, is run by student volunteers from Slippery Rock University.
Lavarr Stephens-Howling, an SRU junior from Johnstown, used the event as a steppingstone toward his career.
"It's a lot of fun. As a resort recreation major, we also get into community recreation. I want to plan events like this in the future," he said.
"The kids love our balloon animals, no matter how they turn out," he said.
Stephens-Howling made a fish-shaped balloon dangling from an inflated rod for one of the young visitors.
Outside at the bottom of the sled riding hill was a frozen hockey area where children could test their skills firing pucks.
"It's fun to be in the snow, and it's a good time for the kids," said Pavami Tallapally of Slippery Rock.
Tallapally attended the festival with her husband and 2-year-old daughter.The state education association event is mandatory for elementary education students at SRU."We have to do it, but we like working with the kids," said Jakki Conchilla, 19, an SRU sophomore from Penn Hills.She and Ashley Rattan, 20, of Monroeville were greeters at the door."We get to see the kids coming in and get them excited," said Rattan, 20, a junior.For those weary of the snowy outdoors, the crafts area inside the recreation center was almost a standing room-only venue.Volunteers, parents and children packed the center's common room."It's a good community event and something fun for the kids to do," said Chris Frazier of Slippery Rock.Frazier and his wife, Aimee, joined in the children's fun, making crafts with their son, Austin, 3, and daughters Christy, 1, and Linda, 9."We usually don't do the sledding," said Linda Frazier, who created a construction paper tribute to the event's ice cream-eating contest."We didn't have to eat the most, we just had to try to finish eating first," she said.
