Le Sueur County Public Health debuts summertime Family Fun Night

Over 300 people flocked to the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds Wednesday night for an evening of summertime fun. Hosted by Le Sueur County Public Health and Le Sueur County 4-H, Family Fun Night invited parents and kids to take part in a bike rodeo, meet live rabbits, check out emergency vehicles and much more.

For years, Le Sueur County Public Health has coordinated similar family fun events in the past. Featuring a resource fair and craft activities designed for new and expecting parents, the events failed to draw the audience organizers were hoping for.

That all changed when the Family Fun Night came to the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds. With a vehicle fair, live rabbits brought by 4-H, facepainting, food trucks and an obstacle course for young cyclists joining the annual resource fair and craft table the event drew a much larger crowd than organizers anticipated.

“With the turnout we had, it was pretty humbling,” said Leah Frederick, Le Sueur County Public Health Family Health Supervisor.

Beyond summertime fun, the Family Fun Night also offers parents opportunities to connect with local resources like Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, the Le Sueur-Waseca Public Library System, Tri-City United Public Schools, Le Sueur County Health and Human Services, Salvation Army and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Le Sueur County 4-H was not only involved in putting on the Family Fun Night, but held a Youth Farm Safety Day for children earlier at the fairgrounds that same day. The event taught children a number of essential skills for staying safe while doing farmwork, including basic livestock handling, navigating a PTO tractor and grain bin and practicing chemical safety.

Attendees started out hearing from a Le Sueur County farmer who had lost his leg in an accident on the potential safety risks involved in farming and the importance of paying attention to hazards. The event also featured a farm scene where kids could point out what parts of the scene appeared unsafe and what could be done to make the environment safer.

The kids were then sent on a tour of six stations covering different aspects of farm safety. One station covered PTO Power kickoff, another involved hand cranking an auger and a third featured a grain bin simulator where kids could pole on a rope and see if they had enough strength to pull someone out of a grain bin.

In another station, kids learned about the impact of not wearing a seatbelt in ATV and UTV rollovers with a Lego demonstration. The fifth station covered how to approach farm animals and the sixth station, covering chemical safety, featured jars of substances like hydraulic fluid and washer fluid. Instructors used these samples to demonstrate how chemicals that are unsafe to consume can appear similar to everyday kitchen items like vegetable oil or Powerade.

Sydney Mitchell, Le Sueur County 4-H Extension Educator, said around 24 kids attended the Farm Safety Day, most of whom lived on farms and could use this knowledge immediately in their everyday lives.

Le Sueur County F4-H is returning to the fairgrounds on Thursday, June 18 for their second annual Passport to Ag event. The event serves as a hands-on introduction to the many facets of farming. Participants receive their very own ag passport and visit interactive stations designed to teach them about a different area of agriculture.

The day will feature many of the simulations featured at the Farm Safety Day, a visit from the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office, emergency vehicles, a farm history station, seed identification and much more.