Eight, Arizona PBS celebrated Be My Neighbor Day, an homage to late children’s TV show host Fred Rogers, Thursday at its 15th annual Día de Los Niños Festival at Heritage and Science Park, drawing more than 5,000 attendees.
The event had over 60 booths filled with educational activities for kids and families. Kimberly Flack, associate general manager of education outreach at Eight, Arizona PBS, said the turnout was more than they expected this year.
“The event is designed to offer neighbors a chance to meet other neighbors and promote the spirit of volunteerism — a natural extension of Fred Rogers’ legacy,” Flack said.
Rogers starred in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” a half-hour children’s TV program that played on PBS from 1968 to 2001 when the show’s run ended. The show featured Rogers speaking earnestly with his TV audience and taking them on tours of different places, such as a factory or music shop.
Arizona PBS has participated in the festival, which is put on through the City of Phoenix’s Parks and Recreation department and its Latino Institute, for the past 14 years. Flack said she thought it would be the perfect place to honor Rogers and the newest generation of PBS characters from the television program “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” an animated spinoff of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
“Be My Neighbor Day is a fantastic way for kids to learn important social intelligence concepts in a fun, engaged and hands-on way, which has been shown to be how children learn best,” said Colleen O’Donnell Pierce, public relations representative for Eight, Arizona PBS. “We’re proud to be part of an even larger family event that day, El Día de Los Niños, which is now a Phoenix annual tradition.”
Flack said the festival was designed to teach children, educators and families about acts of kindness and allow them to participate in activities that benefit the community, as well as meet Daniel Tiger.
“Many nations throughout the world, and especially within the Western Hemisphere, celebrate the day,” Flack said. “It is designed to honor our children who represent the hopes and dreams of our community.”
There were seven trolley stops called Tiger Stops throughout the festival. Each stop had activities designed for children to contribute something to support the community.
Tiger Stop locations included ASU Camp Sparky, where participants were able to take selfies with Sparky, and the Walter Cronkite School, where examples of student journalism were displayed. Other stops offered Daniel Tiger face painting, sunflower planting, the opportunity to thank local firefighters and police officers for their service and assistance from Radio Campesina and the Cesar Chavez Foundation in painting a community mural.
Stops also allowed children to put together care packages filled with items for women and children who find refuge at the Sojourner Center, which helps families fleeing from abuse, and make magnets for seniors’ Meals on Wheels deliveries.
“KAET – Arizona, PBS wanted to find a way to give back to the community with the help of children and other adults through the festival,” Flack said.
Children that completed six of these activities at the stops and collected stamps along the way got the chance to meet and take a photo with Daniel Tiger.
“Daniel Tiger was a huge hit,” Pierce said. “It was staggering to see the length of the line of kids waiting — patiently, which was even more amazing — to see him.”
Attendee Alice Hernandez said her kids enjoyed the event.
“This was a fun way for my kids to learn about giving back to the community,” Hernandez said. “I’d love to bring them back next year. They had a great time.”
The event also featured educational activities like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts for kids as well as literacy.
“It’s a great way for families to have educational fun with their kids — bonding and learning together in a fun environment with popular PBS Kids characters, including Daniel Tiger,” Pierce said.
Contact the reporter at Devon.Noehring@asu.edu
