“This is a completely free event for the community and fun for the kids,” said 3rd Ward Supervisor Helen Martin, chairwoman of the city’s Tourism/Special Events Committee, which sponsors it.
“We get more and more people each year.”
“We come here every year, and the kids get to play,” said Jennifer Decuyper of Clifton Park, whose mother lives in Johnstown and whose husband did the fireworks later for the day.
“It’s good because the focus is on the kids,” said Michael Viscosi of Johnstown. His children Jack and Mary-Kate donned Colonial hats with city Historian Noel Levee.
Levee also showed Noelle Burton of Johnstown how to do drills with a pretend wooden muskets the way colonial soldiers did it with real muskets.
Paetyn Wade of Amsterdam was happy when Christine Doolan of Crazy Christine Balloons twisted balloons into a unicorn for her because, Paetyn said, unicorns “have horns, and they’re magical.”
“They have such great events for children,” said Leah Louck of Johnstown, who brought Paetyn to Summerfest.
The Nickelodeon bouncy house never lacked children, and parents waited in line for their kids’ turn.
Andrew Redshaw of Fort Johnson said he likes playing the games because “you get a lot of tickets.” The ticket could be traded in for small prizes.
Supervising the games and handing out tickets were Boy Scout Troop 104 of Johnstown, directed by 15-year-old senior patrol leader Malachi Mathews.
“In the Boy Scouts you’re required to do community services,” said Bruce Lawrence, charter representative with the scouts and Holy Trinity Church.
The higher a scout rises in rank, the more community service is expected, he said. A special project is required for the top rank of Eagle Scout.
Mathews, he said, is working on his Eagle Scout project now by repainting a Huey Iroquois helicopter back to its original olive drab at Veterans Park in the town of Florida.
The scouts also like the visibility of the Summerfest to draw other youths’ interest in scouting. “They want to be out in the community for the community to know there are Boy Scouts,” Lawrence said.
