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Kids Day: Have fun, obey rules
![]() Workers set up “Lucky Lizzy” during Kids Day preparations at Mason Field in North Attleboro Monday. (Photos by Drew Pillsbury)
Top Headlines The event will be held at Mason Field on Elm Street and is expected to attract thousands of fairgoers before closing at 5 p.m. Sunday. The annual event, offered by the North Attleboro Firefighters Kids Day Association, features carnival rides and game booths, live entertainment and refreshments, with proceeds to benefit local charitable causes. Because of the volume of pedestrians expected to attend the fair, police will close Elm Street in front of the field to motorists from 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, and from 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. During those times, traffic will be detoured down Mount Hope Street to Commonwealth Avenue. Because parking is limited at Mason Field, shuttle buses will be available Friday and Saturday night, running every half-hour, starting at 6 p.m. at the North Attleboro Middle School on Landry Avenue. There will be a designated handicapped drop-off area at the field. ![]() A worker puts a lightning bolt atop of one of the Kids Day rides at Mason Field Sunday. (Photos by Drew Pillsbury)
Scott Langille, spokesman for the North Attleboro Firefighters Kids Day Association, is asking all festival goers to respect the wishes of the local business owners and their properties.Kids Day is a family-friendly event and no alcohol is served or allowed on the field. No dogs or pets are allowed on the field at any time. Also, the animal shelter requests dogs and pets be kept away from the parade on Saturday and the fireworks displays. In order to comply with state regulations requiring the closure of areas near fireworks displays, Mount Hope Cemetery will be closed from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday. Police will be in the area to enforce the closure. All weekend long, a group of local Boy Scouts from Troop 33 will be collecting food at the two entrances for the town's food pantry, Lenore's Pantry. Visitors can bring canned and boxed goods and drop them off at either entrance to help out. As for the fun, rides and games are once again being provided by Fiesta shows of New Hampshire. Visitors can buy $15 wrist bands from noon to 5 p.m., which can be used to ride until 6 p.m. After 5 p.m., regular ticket prices will be charged. All weekend , food and drink will be available at the Kid's Day food booth - and at the same prices as last year. A hot dog and soda will cost $2. And for entertainment, Thursday night will feature the classic car show with radio personality Cruisin' Bruce Palmer. The show will be on Elm Street outside Mason Field. Then at 8 p.m., John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band will take the stage. Friday will feature Radio Disney from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., then local band Feverdream will take the stage following Radio Disney. At 8 p.m., the James Montgomery Band, a popular blues band based out of New England, will perform. About 9 p.m., will be the first of two fireworks shows. Saturday will start out with the fire truck parade. The trucks will line up at the North Attleboro Middle school and parade through town on the usual route to Mason Field for a noon arrival. The trucks will start from North Attleboro Middle School on Landry Avenue at 11 a.m., then go left on Landry to a right on Mount Hope Street, then left on Elmwood Street and across Route 1 to North Washington Street through downtown, then left on Elm Street and across Route 1 to end at Mason Field for the opening of the fair at noon. Following the parade will be performances by Stephanie Taylor, The Rhythm Room, and a demonstration by America's Best Defense martial arts. New this year is Betsy Philips, who will perform an acoustic set at 6:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., the Marc Philip Band will take the stage. About 9 p.m., 9-year-old Kylie Rollins will perform the national anthem, followed by the bigger of the two fireworks show. Sunday, runners of all ages can register to run the 5k road race, and one of several kid's fun runs where everybody wins. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Falls School. Later in the day, there will be performances from local band Tree Line, followed by the Uplifters. Anyone who wants to help out or make a donation can contact the North Attleboro Firefighters Kids Day Association by calling 508-643-7444 or writing to the association at P.O. Box 3215, North Attleboro, MA 02761.
Post Your Comments jm wrote on Jul 9, 2008 5:11 PM: " i dont mean to take the standard ahole viewpoint of "who cares," but in this conversation, who cares? each parent knows whether their child will enjoy the various activities of kids day, as we are seeing in this conversation.... " proudmom3 wrote on Jul 9, 2008 12:00 PM: " Jose21, I agree. I have a 16 month old. and he loves lights, bells..ect. He absolutely loved the fireworks at haywood. I will not only bring him to kid's day with my other child, but will attend the firetruck parade and fireworks. Kid's day can get expensive enough.. I don't need to also pay a babysitter. " jose21 wrote on Jul 9, 2008 10:54 AM: " I have an infant, I'd bring him in a second. You think a 6 month old is scared of bright lights and bells? Or that they're rather spend a summer day with a sitter rather than their parents? Maybe leave the parental decisions to the parents, each kid is diffrent, I know you guys are experts on everything but your advise here is pretty weak.. " skeptic wrote on Jul 9, 2008 10:40 AM: " I don't think realist is self absorbed, Sounds like he is concerned about both children and dogs. Kids Day is a lot of fun if you know what's going on. If you are a six month old all you know is that it's noisy and crowded you don't know that it's fun. Sounds like robmma is the self absorbed one. Children are people and not property. You want family fun time - have a picnic. Most infants I've seen at Kids Day and other big events look scared as h*ll. Listen to the screams of terror at the fireworks display. " robmma wrote on Jul 9, 2008 12:05 AM: " realist; are you honestly that self absorbed? The idea of this fair is to bring people together for a few days of fun and to create a feeling of community. Why would people pay a baby sitter to stay home with their infants? The whole idea of this event is family fun. It doesn't matter if the children are teens or infants, a few hours out as a family are what this is all about. " realist wrote on Jul 8, 2008 4:00 PM: " How about leaving infants at home with a babysitter. I often wonder why people feel the need to drag babies to these things. It's not like they enjoy the noise and flashing lights. " or
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