Saturday turned out to be the perfect day for the fourth annual Carbon County Children's Fun-N-Safety Fair in Jim Thorpe.

Dozens of families from around the county attended the annual event, which teaches kids about being safe in different situations.Mindy Graver, chairwoman of Safe Kids and the family living/family resiliency educator for Carbon County's Penn State Cooperative Extension, said she was thrilled by the turn out."We had a wonderful attendance," she said, adding that she was also pleased by the number of volunteers who gave their time during the five-hour fair.The event, organized by Carbon Masonic Lodge 242 and Carbon County Safe Kids, provided fun and education to children and parents alike. There was free food, free games, face painting and a lot of educational activities.Most of the youngsters in attendance agreed that the event was "fun."Among the special guests were Smokey Bear and two crash test dummies, who walked around, spoke with the children, and posed for photos.The Albrightsville Volunteer Fire Company brought its Fire Safe House, which is a mobile structure utilized as an educational tool to show children the best way to reach safety if a fire occurs in their home. Patches, a talking dog in a mobile-controlled fire truck, was also on hand to entertain the children.During the fair, Trooper Shannon Yorke of the Pennsylvania State Police gave demonstrations on proper seat belt safety during "What's Wrong With This Car?"Susan DeMara and Carbon County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein demonstrated the importance of wearing a helmet with the very popular "coconut-crusher," which shows what would happen to a child's head if it is not protected by a helmet.Following the demonstrations, the group gave out free helmets to the children in attendance.Pinnacle Health was there providing free lead testing to children under the age of 7. They also asked the children to color a tile, which will be made into a crayon quilt.Jim Thorpe Fire Department had its aerial truck on the scene; while the Jim Thorpe Police Department held a fatal vision goggles demonstration, where children put on goggles that mimicked an intoxicated person's vision and then had to walk a straight line.Carbon County's Emergency Management Agency, headed by Mark Nalesnik, had a vehicle on the premises.The Lehighton Lioness/Lions Club was on hand teaching the children how to dial 9-1-1; and AmeriHealth Mercy taught about poison prevention.Other groups that had stands set up outside included Pathstone Head Start; Penn Forest Rescue; the Lehighton Ambulance; St. Luke's Hospice; Lori Koch; Carbon County Children's Team; Early Care and Education; Right From The Start; Pre-K Counts; and The Weatherly Institute for Robotics and Engineering.Boys from Concern provided help for the cotton candy stand.New this year was the addition of sports safety speakers. Two sessions by trained professionals taught kids about the importance of being safe while playing sports.The Masons also offered a special CHIP (Child Identification Program) package. CHIP consists of fingerprints, a video, and a DNA sample taken of the child and given to the parents in case the child would ever be lost or go missing.All the children who attended were entered into free drawings, which included numerous bicycles, as well as other various prizes. Prizes were purchased using money that was donated by area businesses, organizations, and individuals.