[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Vita Melignano
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
What a fun-filled event for toddlers and young children. Thursday, July 21 was the date of the annual Dover Summer Fair. In addition to lots of fun, the shade and warm breezes added a delightful ambiance for parents and kids alike. Big old historic trees and benches situated around the town green added a feel of good old-time entertainment.
Before the festivities began, Library Circulation Supervisor Allison Keaney gave a brief synopsis of what was to come. “This is our annual field day,” she said. “We’ve been doing it every summer for many years. This year, the nationwide summer reading theme is sports and fitness, so this is why we decided to do this type of activity. There is a company called Knucklebones out of Charlestown, and they bring all of this gear here, and set it all up and do everything. We have Sandy Candy, and a couple of our own things here, as well. It’s been going on for six years and counting.”
Two volunteers manned the “Sandy Candy” booth, perched under the shade of a big old tree. Ben Dennison, age 13 and Oliver Fried, age 14 are boy scouts. Their job was “helping people make candy straws, make your own pixie sticks. Basically a tube full of sugar.”
Needham residents and first-year attendees Christina and her daughter, Priya, were among those on hand. “We heard about the event on the Dover Library’s website. We come to this library a lot. It is such a great library,” said Christina. They seemed relaxed and ready for some fun.
Corey, the Knucklebones Coordinator, stated their mission: “We play sports with children, we set up a CP, which is community play,” he said. “We set up a bunch of activities for people of various ages to come out and have fun. This is our first time at the Dover Library. We are expecting a couple hundred people. We travel everywhere. We’ve been getting a lot of libraries lately, so we just set up for kids to come play. We go all year round, indoor, outdoor, rec centers, birthday parties, team building for adults and kids. All age groups! A few years ago we did a senior citizen Olympics. We do equipment rentals. We are based out of Charlestown. We have a crew of about ten people. Two employees are here today.”
An additional pop-up surprise: three boys stopped by the historic tree to pick up a Pokémon GO!
The fair lasted from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. By noon, there were approximately 50 to 60 people frolicking around the grass going from basketball hoops to Sandy Candy to the Human Walker. Karl, six years old from Framingham, was trying his very best to keep the human walker going strong, and succeeded with great determination and pride. All enjoyed one more successful year at the Dover Fair.
