CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Several balloon “sword fights” broke out inside the Community Center on April 24, as international graduate students, scholars, and their families laughed and played during the first-ever International Families Celebration.
Children of all ages and their parents connected over games, arts and crafts, book readings, and enjoyed a wide-range of random and wacky balloon creations like pirate swords, Star Wars-inspired light sabers, sea creatures and other animals, and a few elaborate, tall, and colorful hats.
Although the sword fights didn’t last, the smiles did, and the giggles that echoed through the center were contagious.
The event was hosted by Illinois International’s Global Communications unit in close collaboration with local partners, but it was Ezinne Okey, International Training and Programming Specialist, who came up with the idea and spearheaded the planning.
“I designed the event in recognition of International Families Day, which is usually on May 15,” Okey said. “May 15 is already a busy time of the semester, that is why we had to move it to April 24. The goal of the event was to create a welcoming space for our international student parents to connect, feel recognized, and feel a sense of belonging within our community.”
Okey explained that most of the programs they plan are not specifically designed for children, so she was intentional in creating an inclusive, family-friendly event.
This is also why she decided to collaborate with Orchard Downs Graduate Housing.
“I reached out to partner with Orchard Downs because they are responsible for graduate student housing and run a Kids Club program,” Okey said. “I felt they would be strong collaborators since they have direct access to our target audience, which is international student families and children.”
Additionally, she said the location made sense for the event because families were already familiar with the space. This, in turn, created a comfortable and welcoming environment for all, but it wasn't just the location that made the atmosphere so inviting. Everyone working behind the scenes and local partners who attended the event and provided activities for children, helped establish the family-friendly setting and made the afternoon one to remember.
For example, staff from the Urbana Free Library (who co-sponsored the event) read books to the children and helped them create popsicle stick photo frames while Doug Smith from The Unique Twist created all the balloon animals, characters, and swords that kids ran around with.
Hannah King, the children's program director at Orchard Downs, and her student staffers were particularly instrumental in the success of the celebration because they played with the children. They were in the middle of it all and kept the kids engaged throughout the afternoon by participating in the sword fights and light saber battles, coloring page after page, and answering silly question after silly question.
King and her student staffers also helped put up and take down decorations, set up the different activity stations, and offered to take photos for families at the photo booth.
In the end, over 50 parents attended the event (that doesn’t include the children who participated), and after receiving positive feedback overall, Okey said it was a hit.
“The event was also a success because of the wonderful input of our collaborators—Orchard Downs Graduate Housing and the Urbana Free Library,” Okey added.
Based on the strong turnout and feedback, Okey hopes that this event will return next year.
Analicia Haynes is the storytelling coordinator at Illinois International. She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.