Members of Fairfield Youth Performing Arts decorate their Kiwanis Kids' Day float in accordance with the 2025 parade theme "Adventure Awaits." For its great costumes and attention to detail, FYPA won the float contest. (Andy Hallman/The Union)

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FAIRFIELD – Fairfield Kiwanis Club hosted its annual Kids’ Day event on Saturday, Sept. 20, which brought thousands of people to the downtown to take in the parade, eat pancakes, and enjoy many other activities in Central Park.

Kiwanis member Daryn Hamilton has been shepherding parade entries for the last quarter century, helping them line up in the Fairfield High School parking lot before their trek west along Broadway Avenue.

“This year’s parade was the largest parade I have ever been able to get out of the parking lot,” he said. “This was absolutely the largest group we’ve had on a day when it looked like it was going to be awful, but it wasn’t.”

Hamilton said he couldn’t believe the “mass of people” gathered along the parade route, not just in the downtown but even a few blocks away at Howard Park. Scott Willman, the club’s previous president, said he was pleased with the great turnout despite the “dodgy weather.”

“The most important thing for us is that kids have a fun day, and it was obvious a lot of kids were having a great time,” he said. “Our parade theme ‘Adventure Awaits’ lends itself to creative thinking, and a lot of people rolled with that theme. A lot of kids worked hard on their floats, and we saw more groups participating this year.”

The parade float contest was won by the Fairfield Youth Performing Arts.

“They had a lot of energy and involvement from the kids in their program,” Willman said about the winning float. “Everybody did a great job. It was impressive this year.”

Cuddles the Clown was in Central Park making balloon animals, and Willman said she made a record number of balloons. Members of the Fairfield High School cheer squad spent hours painting faces. Civic groups and student organizations such as the Lions Club, FBLA, Band Aides, the After-Prom Committee and FFA all had representatives helping to bus tables and perform odd jobs around the tent. The Kiwanis Club’s youth chapters, known as the Builders Club at the middle school and Key Club at the high school, have 10-20 members each, and they were helping, too.

Onlookers experienced a few drops of rain but nothing that warranted an umbrella. The misty weather did not depress turnout at the pancake tent, either, whose line stretched around the corner onto Burlington Avenue almost as far as India Cafe.

A day later on Sunday, Collector Cars Unlimited held its annual car show downtown that attracted 56 cars. The Club Choice Award went to Tee Wilson of Houghton, who brought a 1934 Chevrolet Coupe. The Best of Show Award went to Darwin Foster of Riverside, who brought a 1968 Dodge Charger.