Review Family Palooza at Southeast Christian Church
My family and I have been attending Family Palooza @ Southeast Christian Church since its inception and this year was as fun, free, and full of cheap-eats as ever!
Family Palooza occurs every year on Labor Day, so even if you missed it this year, just mark it in your memory bank for next September. It usually runs from 11am – 5pm. I would say it is busiest when it first starts till about 2pm. We went toward the end from about 3-5pm and by then the crowds had dispersed somewhat. It really depends on what kind of weather Louisville decides to have that weekend. You should expect a pretty large crowd regardless because lots of families with lots of kids think this is a cool, extremely family-friendly place to go, and it is.
Think huge family-style carnival!! That’s what this event is in a nutshell. The church fills one of the parking lots with carnival rides, water rides, inflatables, bounce houses, a giant bubble machine, a miniature train ride, face painting, tons of carnival games, and a petting zoo and pony rides. You can also enjoy live music and entertainment by the church’s KidWay performers and even a magic show. They set up called Preschool Playland that is specifically geared for children under age 5 and they had lots of fun games there like the duck pond. This year, we got to peek inside an LMPD helicopter and explore the fire truck from Middletown Fire Department.
ALL of the rides and activities are free!!! You purchase food tickets for 50 cents and any particular food item you eat will be under $1. Food choices included hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza slices, cokes, water, ice cream, sno cones, cotton candy, funnel cakes, popcorn, &bags of chips. Our family mostly enjoyed the bubble making station, face painting, pony rides, hair spray coloring, and craft areas, and food of course! We didn’t partake in the water slides or inflatables but they were a big hit! We had some pizza (Papa John’s), a couple of cokes, and a few sno cones, all for under $5.00. They also had a scavenger hunt set up inside the church with a map for kids to go check out the children’s wings. Once they received a stamp on each square of their map, kids could use it as a coupon for a free sno cone.
Since everything is outdoors, you do want to be prepared with plenty of sunscreen and hats for little ones. They had the food area set up under the carport/pavilion area and there were lots of tables and chairs there. So you can definitely take a break from the sun and get your energy back while sitting in the shade. There were Port-a-Pots set up on the grounds, or you could go inside to use the restrooms. There was also a First Aid station outside and a Lost Parent Booth if needed.
The very neat thing about Family Palooza is that it is run entirely by volunteers: people who give up their Labor Day off so that families in the community can enjoy each other. The Palooza fun was at two of the church’s campuses this year: Blankenbaker and Southern Indiana. I wouldn’t be surprised if they host it at Oldham County campus next year as well. So be on the lookout for it again next year. It is one of the best run family featured events we’ve been to. (Photos courtesy of SECC, Facebook)
By guest contributor: Erin
