When new mom Susan Baritelle gets together with fellow parents of toddlers, she said the main query is usually the same: What is there to do with babies on the peninsula?
“The common question is ‘What do we do with our kids?’” Baritelle said. “There are so many resources, but not all parents know about them.”
Baritelle decided to get to work and she is busy planning and seeking vendors for the first Dungeness Baby Fair on June 7, a Peninsula Moms Group-sponsored event that she hopes will become annual.
Although the fair is centered around children, it is more for the grown-ups, said Baritelle.
“We will have some kid-friendly things, but this is more vendor and service-based than activity-based,” she said. The main requirement for vendors, said Baritelle, is that they are a resource for families of young children. So far, the organizer said she has several groups — day care centers and children’s clothing vendors to the federal Women, Infants & Children program and Olympic Medical Center’s New Family Services. Officers from the Sequim Police Department will be on hand to check car seats for safety and First Teacher’s Colleen Robinson will hold a story time for the young ones.
Baritelle said her goal is to have about 30 booths, 10 of which are reserved for nonprofit organizations. Vendor participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.
“I don’t think anything like this has been done in the Sequim area,” Baritelle said. “I hope it helps the community’s young families.”
For a vendor application for the event, which will be held Saturday, June 7, at the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park, contact Baritelle at sbaritelle@yahoo.com or 477-5467.