Neither Rain Nor Mud Stops Dirt Day
 |
| View Slide Show |
"I've brought all four of my kids to Dirt Day since the first one about seven years ago," said Jim Loughman, standing next to one of the two wet sand piles. "And keep coming back because I know the kids will have fun."
The family event is a chance for kids play together in the five truckloads of sand, dumped this year by Della Trucking Inc. and Bushika Sand and Gravel.
 |
 |
 |
While the event is intended for children 6 and younger, kids of all ages are allowed to come with their families and play with younger siblings in the sand. So, how old are the kids who play in the dirt? Playgroup facilitator Sandra King laughed, "We are the biggest kids on the pile."
The Family Net staff might like to play in the dirt themselves but it's really about the kids.
"Kids love to get dirty and better they do it here than at home," said Jim Barrett, as he watched his 2-year-old son, Ty Barrett, shovel dirt into his purple pail.
Three-year-old Felicia LaRouche had no particular preference: "I liked it all."
Several parents celebrating where repeat attendees. Michelle Snow and her 2-year-old daughter, Madison, were at Dirt Day for the second year and said they returned because of "all the fun they had last year."
The children got T-shirts asking "Got Dirt?" and purple pails and shovels, provided in part bu Greylock Federal Credit Union, the state Department of Early Education and Care, the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund.
Family Net, headquartered at the Haskins Community Center on State Street, also offers Touch-a-Truck day, Ooey Gooey Night and Messy Fun Day, which will take place in July.
The agency offers a wide variety of child and parent services, including playgroups and resources free, to Northern Berkshire residents. For more information, call 413-664-4821 or visit www.familynetfun.com.
