Museum and town join up to help kids cool off
OCOTILLO — Imperial Valley Desert Museum held its first Ocotillo Water Days event on Saturday, offering guests an opportunity to play in the water, cool off, grab a bite to eat and take in some live music.
The public even began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m. Parents were able to take their children around to different water stations on the grounds, and throughout the event, the fire department cooled children by showering them with water.
Live music was performed by the Jugless Jug Band inside the museum, and two local vendors were present, offering food and drink
“This event is the first ever community-focused event to get people to come outside and cool off in the summer in a community that never really had much by way of interactives and coming together,” museum Executive Director Dr. David Breeckner said. “It is a new event this year to get kids and families to come out and have fun. This is an opportunity really for people to get out, cool off and do something different.”
The water days event was held to help the community promote active lifestyles rather than sitting at home in air conditioning.
“Because it is hot outside, people think there is nothing to do,” Breeckner said. “We want them to come out and have fun by doing something they would not normally do. And when they do have fun in the sun, we want to make sure they do so responsibly and be safe to avoid dehydration or too much exposure to the sun.”
One of the aims was to create a stronger sense of community, both in terms of encouraging participation from people in Ocotillo and in drawing visitors from other parts of the county.
“This is a very disparate community and by bringing people together, we are creating a better sense of it,” Breeckner said. “Just in terms of funding here, every one of the major businesses in town have contributed to this event.
The people attending today are from the town of Ocotillo and the Imperial Valley. We are trying to create a sense of engagement.”
In 20 years serving Ocotillo, this was the first time the Imperial County Fire Station No. 6 has participated in a community event.
“We want them to be known and appreciated by their community,” Breeckner said. “The goal here was to build a greater community involvement.”
The fire department was eager to participate, he added. “Children who attended got to see the equipment the fire station uses and how they respond to calls.”