FORT WALTON BEACH — Five-year-old Alana Khan smiled brightly as she twirled a hula hoop on her arm and danced to a song during Kid’s Day at Fort Walton Landing.
“Did you see me,” Alana asked as she rushed off stage to her mother, Sadia Kahn. “Were you impressed? I didn’t know I could do that.”
Kahn said Friday was the first time she has taken advantage of Fort Walton Beach’s free festival for children, which offers water slides, food and booths ranging from face painting to exotic animals.
“It’s so cute,” Kahn said. “As you can see, it’s the simple things they’re drawn to: hoops and bubbles. This is really great. It’s what I love about living in a small town.”
The long-running event is intended to give children and their parents something fun and inexpensive to do during the summer.
“This event brings out a lot of children, and you can always see what they like the most,” said Tiffiny Corcoran, recreation coordinator for Fort Walton Beach. “The water slides are always a hit. The kids can’t get off it. They also always go to the animals, since it’s skunks and wolves and animals they wouldn’t normally see.”
Carly Fulton’s 2-year-old boy was no exception. She said her little one was enamored with the wolf pups.
“This really is a neat thing,” Fulton said. “There’s a lot more to it than I thought there would be.
“It’s a fun thing to do for the summer.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.
