LONGEST DAY OF PLAY FREE EVENT SET FOR JUNE 25, FULTON CITY PARK

To coincide with the kick-off of Summer, and the year's longest day of daylight June 21, the Fulton County Cooperative Extension Service, with the help of the Fulton Parks Board and a number of local civic organizations and volunteers, will sponsor "The Longest Day of Play", Sat., June 25 at Fulton's Lions Club/City Park.

Now recognized as a national event, organizers' goals include encouraging children and families to get outdoors during the summer season and stay physically active. For adults, the recommendation is 150 minutes of physical activity each week, and for children at least an hour daily.

All events, from 3-6 p.m. at the city park that day are free, and will include multiple stations of outdoor game play, such as ring toss, croquet, obstacle courses, inflatables, bubbles, chalk art, food and drinks.

Children of all ages, as well as families are invited to attend.

Anna McCoy, Fulton County's Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, first brought the idea to the Fulton Parks Board in 2020, just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Further restrictions carried over into 2021, but McCoy has visited and spoke with a number of community civic organizations, who have expressed an interest in staging the activities that day, as well as garnered the support of the City of Fulton's Parks Board and the South Fulton Parks and Recreation Board.

Currently, the highest number of obese children lives in China, followed by the United States of America, second, with more than 13 million. India, Brazil and Mexico follow in that order, with Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq completing the list of the top 10 countries facing the childhood obesity issue.

In America, for children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in 2017-2020, the prevalence of obesity was 19.7% and affected about 14.7 million children and adolescents. Obesity prevalence was 12.7% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.7% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 22.2% among 12- to 19-year-olds.

For more information about the Longest Day of Play event, or to volunteer to assist with the event, contact Anna McCoy, Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, Fulton County Cooperative Extension Service, 2114 South 7th St., Hickman or call her office at (270)236-2351.

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Cooperative Extension Service supports this event.