SUMMERDALE, Ala. — It’s free and fun and those who attend might be paving the way for a safer summer.

A Children’s Safety Festival will be held Friday, April 23, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Summerdale Park, and Police Chief Dwain Riebeling is hoping kids and families will come out for the activities and the educational opportunity.

Everything from fighting alcohol, drugs and crime to hunter and summer safety will be the focus of the annual event which is in its fourth year as an April happening.

According to Riebeling, the idea for the local Safety Festival began six or seven years ago when he got a pamphlet on the FBI’s “First Night Out,” a program that has been in place for years to emphasize children’s safety in starting back to school. So, in August Riebeling started the local Children’s Safety Festival and had a good turnout the first year.

In the years that followed, however, the event was plagued by the weather, namely, heat and rain. That’s why the Safety Festival was moved to the fourth Friday in April every year and the emphasis changed to safety awareness during the upcoming summer months and school holidays.

“All of this is done on donations,” Riebeling said of the Children’s Safety Festival.

Sponsors are Riviera Utilities, Baldwin EMC, Marjorie Snook, Golden Flake, John Deere, Taylor Golf Carts, Mike’s Saw & Cycle, Baldwin Towing and Alligator Alley.

There will be activities for the kids, food, games, prizes, displays and demonstrations. Alligator Alley will be on hand as will K-9s, horses, helicopters, fire departments and motorcycles.

“We believe kids and families can benefit from what the Children’s Safety Festival has to offer as far as keeping safe, and they can have fun learning about safety,” Riebeling said.