HOUGHTON - Families got a last bit of summer relaxation at the Houghton Police Department's third annual Family Fun Day Thursday.
The goal is to familiarize children with their local police. And it succeeded, said Lt. Nick Roberts. He anticipated 200 to 300 people would show up.
"We're a half-hour into it, we've already got a lot of people," he said. "Everything's going well."
Article Photos
Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette
Jaden Turnquist, 2, of Houghton, held by Amanda Cooney of Houghton, pets McGruff the Crime Dog at the Houghton Police Department’s Family Fun Day Thursday while Houghton Fire Chief Jim Lightfoot looks on.
Throughout the afternoon, children in cowboy hats dashed from one spot to the next, waving balloons of different shapes and wearing various facepaint designs. For the parents, there was also a place where they could get their children fingerprinted.
Outside, a ring of games were set up, such as a beanbag toss, where kids could win prizes.
"It's good. I got a whistle," said Branden Peterson, 8, of Houghton.
"We'll try all of them before we leave," said his babysitter, Julie Hauring.
Nobody walked away with an empty stomach, as volunteers handed out hot dogs and popcorn and spun stick after stick of cotton candy.
Kaitlyn Moore, 9, of Hancock gave her opinion of the day after getting a Pokemon character painted on her face: two thumbs up.
Her favorite part: "The games."
Parents enjoyed the day as well.
"I think it's pretty interesting," said Jessica Vanderploeg of Chassell. "We just moved back up from Wausau, so we had to check it out."
Additional sponsors included the Houghton Fire Department, with volunteer support from the Michigan Technological University Greek community.