RUMFORD — The Rumford Falls Eagles will host its annual Child Advocacy Day at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 10, in conjunction with the Rumford Lumberjack Festival, resident Fred Allen said Thursday morning.

Allen, who has been chairman of the event for the past seven years, said Child Advocacy Day started around eight years ago and was a part of a competition held by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in United States and Canada.

“Each Eagles group would see who could throw the best event for the children,” Allen said. “We actually won in 2011 against a number of U.S. and Canadian teams. We received a $3,000 check, which was split amongst the different groups that participated in our event.”

Allen said Child Advocacy Day has evolved over the past couple of years due to the Rumford Lumberjack Festival.

“The Lumberjack Festival started last year, and at first, we were concerned that our event and their event was being held on the same day,” Allen said. “We approached them and asked if there was a way we could work together. They thought it was a good idea.”

The number of residents participating has increased since 2013, Allen said.

“We have a float in the Paul Bunyan Festival Parade this year,” he said. “After that, we’ll drive over to the Eagles Hall, where we’ll begin our event.”

Among the groups participating are Rumford police and fire departments, the River Valley Healthy Community Coalition, and a team from the Rumford Community Hospital.

“We may get a group from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, but there’s conflicting schedules right now, so we’ll have to wait and see,” Allen said. “We’ll have plenty of stuff going on though. There’s a retina scanning program by the Rumford Police Department, a table for face painting and coloring, a demonstration by police and fire officers to show kids that 911 calls are not a plaything.”

After the event, a dinner will be held at 5 p.m. with baked ham, baked beans, potato salad and corn bread, and a dance at 8 p.m. for residents 21 and older.

The dinner is $5, the dance is $5, and combined they are $8.

“Anyone can come to the dinner,” Allen said. “We just can’t have underage people in for the dance.”

Allen said that the most important thing about the Child Advocacy Day is the children themselves.

“We always like to make clear that it is for the children first and foremost,” Allen said. “It’s something that we can use to make life safer for our children. We’re able to raise some money for local organizations at the same time. It’s a really good thing.”

For more information, call Allen at 739-9798 or Kathy Boothby at 418-0254.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com

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