Twenty-five characters will be on hand to dance, decorate cookies and create crafts with kids when the annual Cookies With Characters event is held Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Highland County Senior Citizens Center.
This year the event is being held in three shifts — 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. There are a limited number of tickets for each shift.
“In the past we’ve had a lot of people and this way it will be less crowded. There will be more room for the kids to dance and have fun with their favorite characters,” said Mechell Frost, executive director of the senior center. “Music plays the whole time and we focus on certain songs so the kids can do things like the ‘Chicken Dance,’ and sometimes the parents get in there and join in, too.”
Those signing up for the first session will be served breakfast, and those signing up for the last two sessions will be served lunch.
The cost is $8 per person. Adults are required to purchase a ticket, but they also get to eat. Admission is free for anyone 11 months old or younger.
When visitors enter the senior center they’ll be greeted by characters like those they see on TV and in movies and books, and a center transformed into a colorful play area. They will get to decorate cookies, create a craft, and each one with a ticket will receive a”Character Bucket” that comes with a coupon for a scoop of UDF ice cream and a coloring book. They also get breakfast or lunch.
Thanks to a long list of sponsors, all proceeds from the event will support the operation of the senior center.
“The goal is to raise money for the center, and we also want the community in our building so they know who we are and what we do here, because the center means so much to so many people,” Frost said. “It’s an event we’ve worked really hard on, but the turnout is totally worth it. It’s kind of an event we’ve nurtured since its beginning in the hope that people come out and help the center. What I always tell people is that if they like superheroes, Paw Patrol and princesses, they’ll like this event.”
For more information call the center at 937-393-4745.
The center is offering a membership special this month where the purchase of a 2019 membership also comes with a membership for the remainder of this year.
It also has a free, public event coming up Friday, Sept. 28 with the Ohio Department of Insurance. It will offer a Medicare discussion followed by a question and answer period. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
