Magical Land of Oz comes to downtown Washington

WASHINGTON — More than 25 local businesses and organizations brought bits and pieces of the magical Land of Oz to downtown Washington, Friday evening for the 2023 Kidzfest.

This event did not come together simply by clicking together ruby slippers, it took a lot of work, but the community came together to create this popular event.

Washington Hospitals and Clinics sent information to surrounding schools and encouraged their participation in the form of coloring and drawing contests.

“Just in case you were wondering where you can view some of the drawings and the coloring pages for all the second grade, third, fourth and fifth, that's all at Marshall Furniture and Flooring,” Event Emcee Joe Nichols said.

The rest of the entries are located in other various businesses around downtown Washington. Winning submissions are available for viewing at the Washington Evening Journal Office.

According to Main Street Washington, the Washington Middle School played a large role in creating the magic as they prepared Central Park during their Orange and Black Give Back Day.

The students then performed musical numbers under the direction of Middle School Choir Director Cailee Wenger during the actual event.

Wenger continued to cultivate a magical experience downtown as she led the cast of the Washington Community Theater’s Wizard of Oz in performing a medley from the show.

Other entertainment for the evening including an Absolute Science show and performance by Iowa’s youngest magician, 12-year-old Kayleigh Rogers.

Children also enjoyed pony rides, a bounce house, snacks, and face painting on the beautiful spring evening.

Children explored various booths throughout Central Park as they filled out bingo cards in hopes of winning a prize at the end of the night.

One booth, put together by KCTC, invited children to play a bean bag toss game they dubbed “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

Other booths focused more on promoting health, wellness, and safety for youth.

The Washington Fire Department gave kids took the opportunity to teach children about fire safety as they offered experiences shooting down pretend fires with a real fire hose, crawling through the traveling smoke house, and posing for photos with Marshall from Paw Patrol.

“It's like a dark cave that smells like honey,” 6-year-old Penny Juelsgaard said of her experience climbing through the smoke house.

“It just gets better every year,” Penny’s dad Nick Juelsgaard said of the event overall. “It is really good and there is just so much community involvement.”

Faith Baptist Church engaged children in the healthy habits of moving their bodies with a simple obstacle course and invitations to their sports camps over the summer.

Like most of the other booths, Faith Baptist Church gave children swag as they visited.

While the kids loved the whistles given by the church, the shrill noises filling the square for the duration of the event made many adults more thankful for other giveaways.

The Washington Police Department gave children quieter gifts such as stickers and color books.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com