ABOVE: Kayla Ekstrom and Keri Murphy hand out food at Granada Elementary School for the district's first family fun night on Monday.

GRANADA- The Granada Huntley-East Chain Public School District held its first summer fun night outside the school on Monday evening. Based on similar events held organized by Fairmont Early Childhood Education, the event is the first of its kind held by the district.

The event was an experiment for the district, and was organized by Granada preschool teacher, Kayla Ekstrom. It was aimed at children under the age of six and featured a variety of activities.

“There’s bubbles, sidewalk chalk, different sensory tables, water play, painting, an obstacle, and different hands on activities kids can do with their parents … and we also have the playground there that they can play on. (It’s) just some simple things for them to come out and enjoy themselves,” said Ekstrom.

The activities were free for all attendees, even if they do not attend school in Granada.

“(The activities featured are) some simple hands on activities that promote play, and some independent self directed activities that are pretty easy to follow that parents can do with their kids.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic Ekstrom missed being able to bring her children to community events and wanted to give families in Granada an opportunity to get out and socialize with one another. After attending the family fun nights organized in Fairmont, she decided to use them as a model for a new activity in Granada.

“They’re a lot of fun and just they’re really simple, and I though that there’s no reason we can’t do something like that in Granada,” said Ekstrom.

She brought the idea to the school superintendent, Doug Storbeck, who offered to grill hotdogs and helped provide food via the school’s summer food program. Altogether the event was made possible by a handful of organizers who were willing to contribute enough time to make it possible.

If organizers consider Monday’s event to be a success and there is a demonstrated public interest in future events, Ekstrom said she’s interested in continuing the event.

“We’ll see what we can do better in the future, learn from this opportunity, and see what else we can provide for the community of Granada in the future,” said Ekstrom.

The next event could be as soon as next month, and additional events may be held later in the year.

“We could definitely aim for trying again next month. It’s definitely worth a shot, and if there’s interest in it I’d definitely be willing to hold (another event) next month,” said Ekstrom.