Update (9/23): MERIDIAN, Miss. - For the past several years, the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi and the city of Meridian have been putting on the national Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play. This event is a day dedicated to getting kids off the electronics and spending the day outside with friends.
"We know how the social media is and we know how technology has grown. Sometimes that handicaps our kids from enjoying the great outdoors. What we want to do is what you see in this park today. Everybody is out laughing, smiling and having fun,” Jermaine Harris, Director of Operations for the Boys and Girls Club,
told WTOK.
The day featured bounce houses, free food and lots of fun activities for kids to enjoy. Many kids we talked to say having days like this are good ways to keep them entertained without being on their phones all day.
"I think we should put the phones down because we are on them a lot. Today we are just having fun and getting to know each other,” says Joyliyha Earl.
"Everyone is having a great day today at Highland Park. A lot of people are getting to know people. We are just having fun out here,” says Latayje Chambliss
"I'm having a lot of fun getting off the electronics and bonding with people that I don't know, talking to people and making friends,” says Alaijha Allen.
Organizers say the day of play is a great opportunity for families and friends to get out and interact with the community.
"People can see all the negative that goes on. Whatever it is they have that floats around, we want something positive. Today is a day of positive with family and friends and loved ones to be out here in this park and enjoy themselves,” Harris.
Harris mentions the turnout grows every year and he is looking forward to next year.
Saturday marks the 15th year for the Nickelodeon Day of Play. More information about Nickelodeon's annual Worldwide Day of Play can be found below.
Original post:
Meridian, Mississippi - The City of Meridian's Parks and Recreation Department will host its 12th Annual Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play on Saturday, September 22! The event will take place at Highland Park between 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and is free for all children to attend. At Meridian's Nickelodeon Worldwide Day of Play event, kids are invited to take part in a variety of fun outdoor activities. The free event will feature games, bounce houses, a drink toss, and more. For more information, please call 601-482-2544.
Among the children who came out Saturday to enjoy the Nickelodeon Day of Play at Highland Park in 2017 are, from left: Jaden Rue, Austin Rue, Wikeshia Hurde, Roosevelt Miller and Yavahnei Holloway. Photo: Jessica Lauren Morris is Nickelodeon's summer-long play campaign, a slime-filled cross-country tour that celebrates all the ways kids love to play.
On the ground, Nickelodeon will celebrate with over 4,000 events hosted by local and national partners including: Afterschool Alliance; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Girl Scouts of the USA; Kiwanis International’s Builders Club and K-Kids; Laureus Sport for Good; National Fitness Foundation; NFL PLAY 60; Playworks; Police Athletic League; Special Olympics International; The Aspen Institute’s Project Play; The Association of Children’s Museums; US Play Coalition and USA BMX. Additionally, the network will launch two new grant programs in partnership with Laureus Sport for Good and National Fitness Foundation in honor of Worldwide Day of Play’s 15th anniversary.
Nickelodeon will commemorate Worldwide Day of Play on-air on Saturday, September 29 with interstitials featuring cast members from Nick’s hit series
I Am Frankie. The interstitials, which highlight the importance of physical play in kids’ lives and encourage them to get outside and get active, will air across all Nickelodeon platforms.
In addition to hosting nationwide grassroots events with its partners, the network will also mark Worldwide Day of Play with the launch of two new grant programs in partnership with
Laureus Sport for Good, funding underserved communities’ afterschool programs, and
National Fitness Foundation along with
DonorsChoose, which will fund in-school activities. Both grant programs aim to bring fitness and play to kids across the country.
In May, Nick kicked off its
summer-long play campaign, a slime-filled cross-country tour which visited:
Phoenix, Ariz.;
St. Louis, Mo.;
Pittsburgh, Pa.;
Houston, TX and
Oakland, Calif.; for Worldwide Day of Play events in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Phoenix; The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum; the Pittsburgh Steelers; Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Harris County Precinct One; and the After-School All-Stars, the Oakland Athletics and the Oakland A’s Community Fund.
The tour culminates in
Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Sept. 15, with Nick teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City’s Walk for the Kids. The fun-filled event will feature appearances by stars from Nickelodeon’s hit series
I Am Frankie, Alex Hook, and Carson Rowland; Nick-themed games and activities; a slime booth; costumed characters; a Nick Radio dance party and more. The network will be joined by longstanding partners including: Canine Companions for Independence; Jr. NBA; KidTribe; MLB “PLAY BALL;” New York Red Bulls; NFL PLAY 60; Peppa Pig and George; Playworks; The Muddy Puddles Project; Tough Mudder’s “Mini Mudder” and USA BMX; and new partner Nike.
Nickelodeon is expanding Worldwide Day of Play’s reach through a new partnership with Mini Mudder, Tough Mudder’s one-mile Mud Run designed for adventure-seeking kids and consists of eight to ten fun and challenging team-focused obstacles. In celebration of Worldwide Day of Play, Mini Mudder will add a brand-new Nickelodeon-themed “Slime” obstacle to its courses, providing kids with the opportunity to be physically active while also having fun.
Nike is a proud partner of Nickelodeon’s 15th annual
Worldwide Day of Play.
To find out more about Worldwide Day of Play and Nickelodeon's partners helping bringing the initiative alive for kids all around the US, visit
http://worldwidedayofplay.com. To register a event as a official Worldwide Day of Play event, visit
https://www.day-of-play.com.
More Nick: Nickelodeon Kicks Off Summer Celebration Of Play, Bringing Worldwide Day Of Play Events To Cities Across The USA!
Originally published: Wednesday, September 19, 2018.
Original source: meridianstar.com.
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