Photos and Videos of Saturday's NPUT Birthday Bash!

"I am NPUT". Are you?

Over two hundred parents and children gathered at the Towamencin Fire Hall this past Saturday to help North Penn Under Ten celebrate its second birthday and to meet with local providers of party services.

Each family received a sturdy, reusable "goody" bag filled with coupons, small toys and other trinkets, as well as a wealth of information useful to families with young children. Flyers and brochures from area parents' support organizations, birthday party venues, and even information on summer camps and year-round programs filled the bags. Each individual, both young and young at heart, was also given a raffle ticket upon entering the hall. Hundreds of dollars worth of prizes were awarded that day, divvied up between three lucky families who had the good fortune of holding the right raffle tickets. Two winners had traveled from Perkasie and Norristown to attend the fair and were sure they glad they did!

Card making with The Giving Tree Families.

The Giving Tree Families brought along supplies and helped children make birthday cards that will be delivered to local area nursing homes.

Zeigler's Beverage Company was on-hand with samples of several of its delicious products, as well as coloring pages featuring the beloved mascot, Zig.

Story time with Harleysville Books.

Speaking of Zig, the apple man himself made an appearance, as did Jack the kangaroo from Jumpin' Jack's Inflatable Playland and Party Center. Corduroy the bear accompanied Harleysville Books owner, Shelly Plumb, for the bookstore-sponsored story time. Even Arnold's Family Fun Center unveiled a table-top sized plush model of their brand-new, never-before-seen mascot, Arnie the Alligator.

The highlight for onlookers and mascots alike was surely during the Milestones in Music playtime when Zig and Jack were seen dancing along with Miss Judy and friends. Here's a clip of the two as they ham it up!

Wondergy Founder, Ken Fink.

Wondergy engages the crowd.

Mid-way through the morning, Wondergy Science Edutainment took the stage and wowed the children (and parents!) in attendance with chemistry lessons so fun and visually impressive that nearly all of the children from age three years on up to middle-school age stayed entranced for the entire hour-long show! Did they even realize the valuable lessons they were learning when they watched and shouted out their answers about balloons shrinking and expanding, liquid nitrogen appearing to...disappear? Who knows and, as a parent myself, who cares! The passion, knowledge and charisma exhibited by founder, Ken Fink, and the enthusiastic reaction of the children were awe-inspiring. It was a beautiful thing to see children so excited and enthralled by such a worthwhile show (click here for a video clip).

Kona Ice of Schwenksville

Kona Ice of Schwenksville arrived with the cleanest, newest frozen novelties truck anyone had ever seen just as the day was starting to heat up. Owner Pat Hoffman graciously gave free cups of shaved ice that grateful children and adults were able to flavor any way they liked.

Gymboree Play & Music

Once we were all refreshed, it was time to boogie with Gymboree Play and Music of Montgomeryville (see the video here).

Motivation Music Center

As the morning came to a close, a live performance by Motivation Music Teacher, Dave Cunningham, whose vocal and acoustic guitar performance was a hit with children and parents alike. Several children joined in the fun, keeping the beat with small shakers.

Stuff the Bus Donations

As with any North Penn Under Ten sponsored event, attendees were encouraged to bring along an item to donate to a particular non-profit endeavor. This time the recipient of NPUT readers' generosity was the North Penn United Way. Visitors brought pencils, erasers, books, notebooks and 3-ring binders to help kick-off the 2012 Stuff the Bus campaign.

More photos are available on the North Penn Under Ten Facebook page.

It will be seven months before NPUT holds another event of its own. The 2nd Annual Early Learning Expo (formerly the Preschool Expo) will take place on Saturday, January 5, 2013. In the meantime, families can find plenty of local resources and an abundance of fun at www.NorthPennUnderTen.com!