Kids Cookout in the Park Puts Kids and Bikes Together

It was a picture-perfect Wednesday morning weather-wise, at least for a few hours, at the Northside Park in Sidney where the Cheyenne County Rotary Club sponsored the Kids Cookout in the Park.

The event was billed as an opportunity for some summertime fun and food, while kids got the chance to get their bikes repaired and put into proper working order by Pedalers Corner owner Doug Loghry.

"This is a great chance for kids to get their bikes working properly, make sure they're safe to ride and to show the kids how to keep their bikes in good working order," said Loghry.

A good group of businesses and organizations sponsored the event, which featured free hot dogs and other refreshments, games like cornhole, and a big focus on bicycles. Company and organizations sponsoring the event included Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, Pedalers Corner, Walmart Sidney, Sidney Public Library, Pepsi of Sidney, Aster's Foods, North Platte Rotary Club, Kearney Dawn Rotary, Broken Bow Area Rotary Club and Grand Island Sunrise Rotary Club.

A big group of children gravitated to the patio where two rows of bikes were set up for inspection. 8 year-old Owen Ray Colbert of Sidney examined the bicycles like an experienced car shopper surveying a used car lot. With his hands wrapped around the grips of a blue, rugged off-road bicycle, Owen Ray said, "I like this one a lot...but it might be a little to big for me, but I really like it and I can grow into it eventually. But I also want to ride it right now," he said. Young Master Colbert was experiencing something many of us go through as adults; purchasing a practical vehicle, or bending to temptation and getting something a little more flashy.

But Owen Ray does not have to worry about reliability as all of the bikes were checked and refurbished wherever necessary by Doug Loghry. "It's just great to have an event like this where kids can get their bikes checked out, or get a replacement for a bike that's just not safe. Kids can get a sense of responsibility and independence by having a bike, and learning how to maintain the bike properly is a good lesson for them."

By noon the grill the fired up, the hot dogs were roasting and everyone was having a good time. They had about another hour or so before the skies turned and the heavy rains came down, but a good number of kids got to check out some bicycles and set up the process for repairs.

This was the first major event sponsored by the newly-formed Cheyenne County Rotary Club, and with the amount of sponsors, volunteers and participants who came out, the event was a big success. Look for more community-building events in the future sponsored by Rotary.