Hundreds attend inaugural Kids and Parents Expo at Detroit Lakes High School on Saturday

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Kids and parents alike crowded into Lakeshirts Fieldhouse at Detroit Lakes High School on Saturday for inaugural Kids and Parents Expo.

Hundreds of event attendees were treated to games, candy, arts and crafts and other assorted games set up at the various vendor tables.

Kids smile while taking a photo during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

Cole Helbling, operations director for Essentia Health St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes, said some of the staff working the expo for the health provider are the same staff these kids see every time they go into the pediatrician’s office.

“We brought a pediatrician, we’ve got pediatric therapy here,” said Helbling. “They see these patients in the clinic and then they get to have a good time with them in the community. A lot of familiar faces and everybody is having a great time.”

Kids decorate mini-pumpkins during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

Kids wait as food coloring is added to their slime mixture during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

He also pointed out a game in the gym that drew large lines of kids throughout the event.

“The Zombie Defense game over there just looks amazing,” he said. “I’m definitely going to try that out in a couple minutes here when I get a chance.”

The Zombie Defense game featured two leaf-blower-like units with a top-loaded rifle attachment that could be hand fed from a bucket of foam balls and fired at zombie cutouts.

Kids also painted and decorated more than 200 mini-pumpkins during the event.

They also mixed their own glue-based colored slime to take home thanks to the staff at Detroit Lakes Public Utilities in another kid-favorite event during the expo.

Stacey Omberg, event organizer for Leighton Broadcasting, said the slime table had consistently the longest lines all day.

Two event attendees show their gooey hands while making their own colors slime during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

“It is a hit-and-a-half,” said Omberg. “That one has been busy from the time that Bridget sat down. I think she thought she was going to sit down, but I don’t think she’s sat down since.”

She also said, overall, she couldn’t have been happier with the inaugural expo. The vendor tables were engaging; the kids were all smiling; and the entire afternoon really seemed like a kid-focused community event, which probably pleased some parents too.

“You gotta start somewhere, so that’s kinda what we did this year,” she said. “We were just kinda getting a feel for what we need to do, and what we need to do to bring people in. They say, ‘if you build it, they will come,’ and I think that happened this year. So, I’m excited and really happy about it.”

Kids and parents try to guess the weight of the pumpkin during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

Kids toss bean bags into three buckets during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

A kid throws a beanbag at a game table during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)

Kids smile while decorating pumpkins during the Kids and Parents Expo in Detroit Lakes on Oct. 14, 2023. (Michael Achterling / KDLM)