News : Hometown memories: Party in Park one of many things bringing people to Vinton

Children fill decorative bottles with colored sand.

“This way, Grandpa! This way!”

The first person I talked to Saturday at Riverside Park was Arianna, the 2 ½ year-old.

I saw her near Hummel Pavilion and she pointed toward the playground. But as I stopped near the slide, she kept pointing north. “This way!”

We walked north until the tennis courts were in full view.

Arianna pointed.

“Easter Eggs!” she said.

It had been 91 days since Arianna and her sister joined scores of other pre-schoolers at the tennis courts, where they picked up eggs during the Kiwanis-sponsored event.

Yet, she clearly remembered exactly where to go and what she could expect to find.

Soon, Arianna will be old enough to understand times and seasons, and she will know that in late June, other things will be waiting at the park.

While my granddaughters are still too young to enjoy many of the Party in the Park activities, Arianna showed me how well they remember their last visit.

That is one of the magical things about events like Party in the Park – the memories.

Every year, thousands of people gather from Thursday through Saturday night, spending the weekend doing countless things with friends and family.

And it happens on other weekends, too. The Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt. Boomtown. The lighted patriotic holiday parade.

And every year, countless children say to their parents something quite similar to Arianna’s words to me: “This way.” Come on. Let’s go. The fun is over there.

And to everyone who helps make these memories possible, parents and grandparents say: Thanks.