NEWBERRY — The Newberry Fire Department and Lowe’s will be holding its Kids Fun Day on Sept. 10 in the Lowe’s parking lot from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The event was called Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs for many years, but was changed to the Newberry Fire Department’s Fishing Rodeo and was held at Dave Waldrop’s pond for many years.
Captain Bobby “Stump” Rowe is one of the founding people of Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs.
“About five years ago, we moved it to the City and changed it from Kids Fishing Rodeo to Kids Fun Day. Each year, this is a departmental event that the members elect to do and the funds come from the annual golf tournament that we do. One year we started a golf tournament for a member here and it done so well that we continued that golf tournament to fund the Kids Fun Day,” said Chief Keith Minick.
Lt. Jimmy Bickley added that a percentage of money has also been given to MUSC while the other percentage helps fund Kids Fun Day.
“We have a lot of good players out there. There has been a lot of good sponsorships, collaboration and cooperation, just merging of businesses around the City to help us with the Kids Fun Day,” said Minick. “The key to this Kids Fun Day is the City of Newberry Fire Department is basically one that organizes the event. The reality is if it weren’t for the partnerships and support of the community, basically we’re driving the bus and people are getting on board to be part of this to educate our young kids and citizens and anything else that’s out there.”
The event is free for ages 2 to 14 to attend and will have outdoor activities, popcorn, hotdogs, sno-cones and ice cream. Minick added that a helicopter will be flying in for Kids Fun Day and the Fire Safety House will be on site.
Educating young people and adults but also having fun is an important part of Kids Fun Day. Both Minick and Bickley hope that Kids Fun Day continues to grow in the future.
“It’s not only just for kids, there are things for adults. We try to reach out to adults about fire safety, too. We call it Kids Fun Day, but it’s really for everyone,” said Bickley.