NEWBURYPORT — The hundreds of children at Atkinson Common were quickly reduced to barely a dozen by noon Wednesday as heavy rain disrupted the annual Kids Day in the Park.
“We had fun in the rain,” said Jen Plante of Dracut, who with her son, Mace, 7, attended their first Yankee Homecoming. Kids Day in the Park was hosted by the Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport.
The two sat in line after the downpour, waiting patiently for Mace’s turn to have his face painted. The line was enormous when the sun was still shining.
“I want to be Mario,” Mace said, when asked what he wanted painted.
Exchange Club member and Newburyport Bank banking officer Amanda Kelcourse said the crowd was quite large before the rain came.
“It was a ton of kids,” Kelcourse said.
Kids Day in the Park began with a judged carriage and bicycle parade around the Civil War monument.
Local musician Steve Swochak led his usual sing-along, and vehicles from the city’s Fire, Police and Public Services departments were open for inspection, along with an ambulance from Atlantic.
As she sat beneath a tent set up by Newburyport Bank to avoid the rain, Kelcourse explained why they felt it important to be involved with Kids Day.
“We just wanted to take part in the fun and give away some Frisbees, bubbles and yo-yos and just add to the fun,” she said.
Kelcourse said she has always been proud that Yankee Homecoming is part of her community.
“And as a community bank, we definitely want to be out here and supporting the members in our community and the kids and everyone else,” she said.
Cheryl Sweeney attended Kids Day with her grandchildren visiting from Reading, Quinn Sweeney-White, 6, and Willie Sweeney-White, 4.
“This whole day in the park, and the way that everything is taken care of for the kids, they have music, they had the canine show, the kids could go in the ambulance, it was just amazing and it’s all free,” she said.
They were also waiting in the face painting line. Willie said he wanted to have his face painted like the Ninja Turtles.
“My favorite is the blue one,” Willie said, referring to Leonardo.
One highlight that Willie and Mace both mentioned was the show put on by Essex County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Kidger and his K-9 partner, Alvin, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois.
“It’s great coming out here, getting the community involved and kind of showing everyone the things we can do, what the canines are here for,” Kidger said. “They’re capable of so many other things outside of what people typically think, which is just biting.”
He said it is always great to see the looks of excitement and joy in the crowd.
“The kids love it and it’s awesome to come out here and be able to get them involved with something as simple as training,” Kidger said. “Pulling the dog out just gets everyone’s attention.”
Daily News reporter Jim Sullivan contributed to this report.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.