ALLIANCE ‒ More than 100 children, all dressed in bright white T-shirts, huddled at the starting line in Silver Park. They were ready to get messy and run.
Andrea Lee, executive director of the Alliance Family YMCA, loudly and clearly, counted off “three … two … one!”
Handfuls of vibrantly colored powder − purple, pink, green, blue and orange − were tossed into the air and cascaded down onto the youthful racers.
With that, the Alliance Family YMCA Carnation Youth Color Run started on Aug. 6, near the tennis courts at Silver Park.
The 1-mile fun run − canceled last year, due to rain − is a free, official event in the Greater Alliance Carnation Festival, which runs through Aug. 10.
The Youth Run is “not real structured, and the colors are fun,” Lee said. “It’s truly being a kid without any rules or stipulations.”
While the racers were ages 5 to 18, some little ones made sure to bathe in the powder, with adults grinning and chuckling softly while looking on.
Among the colorful toddlers was 2-year-old Sienna Fraraccio of St. Louis, in town with her family to visit relatives. The little girl’s face, hair and shirt were caked purple powder.
“She was so stinkin’ cute,” Lee said.
Marissa Fraraccio, Sienna’s mom, said the youth run was the first Carnation Festival event they had attended since arriving in town.
Her other daughters − Amelia and Sophia − participated in the run.
“I loved it. It was so fun,” Fraraccio said. “Get some energy off.”
Also, participating were members of the Alliance Middle School cross country team, who said the race was good exercise for them.
Among the team members were seventh-graders Elizabeth Hull, 12, and Mallory Gross, 12, who said they had fun.
The same for eighth-graders Anthony Waguespack, 13, and Paul Ward, 13, also middle school cross country runners.
“It was good to get fit,” Waguespack said after the run.
Ward said his favorite part of the event was seeing little boys and girls running, being silly. “Cheer them on and stuff,” he said.
This year’s run was moved from Iron Horse Trail to the park, a change from past years, to coincide with Days in the Park.
The Days in the Park event − a four-day food and music festival within the Greater Alliance Carnation Festival − is a marquee event in 11 days of various types of gatherings. It will run through Aug. 9, with fireworks at dusky closing it out.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On X (formerly Twitter): @bduerREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘It was so fun.’ Carnation Youth Color Run was a huge draw
Reporting by Benjamin Duer, Canton Repository / The Repository
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