Foster and adoptive families from the northwestern corner of CT enjoyed the Eighth Annual Family Fun Day at Lake Quassy Amusement Center, Friday, August 8th.  What promised to be a rainy miserable day in local forecasts turned into a sun-filled, fun-filled adventure for over 400 participants.  Smiles and laughter were seen and heard from one corner of the park to the other.   Parents and kids alike got to forget the trauma and pain that brought them together and simply enjoy an old-fashioned summer ritual – the amusement park!  One foster father stated, “This is just great.  It is wonderful to see our kids smile so much.  I just love watching them enjoy themselves so much. We really appreciate this day.  Our family is so grateful for the chance to do this.”   

     Families enjoyed a barbeque feast prepared by the Quassy staff and were happy to see the familiar faces of staff from prior years.  Ralph, a Quassy staff veteran, smiled and hugged folks he recognized from prior years.  At the end of the afternoon, Ralph commented, “You folks do something good every day.  Some people never do a good thing ever in their lives.  It is a honor to help out here every year."

Clowns from Puttin’ On the Ritz came and patiently painted faces and made balloon animals for wide-eyed children for hours.  Kids lined up excitedly to wait their turn.  Jo Ann Salerno, owner and clown, commented, “It’s such a privilege to work with these families.  We really love making the kids smile.” A DJ played music and commandeered kids for games throughout the day.  Donnie Gamsjager, the DJ from DNR Productions, reminisced, “I have been involved with this event for about 7 years.  It is one of the most awesome events I do all year long because of the kids.”   

     Everyone rode the rides all day long and into the night.  One mom, Joan, who fosters 5 teenage girls, reported that she and the girls look forward to this event all summer long.  Joan stated, “This is wonderful.  I can let my girls run around all day long.  They have so much energy to burn and this day gives them a chance to get it out.  They are having a ball.”  As Joan sat at a table near the entertainment area the girls ran up to her and jumped up and down delightedly squealing about the last ride they went on and then took off to get on the next ride.  Joan’s teenage foster daughter, Sara, ran off holding the hand of a little boy from another family.  Sara proved to be a big help to this family.  She “buddied” with 8 year old Daymond, who needed a companion on the rides.  Sarah and Daymond both love the “fast rides.”  Joan stated that helping Daymond made Sarah feel good about herself.  And everyone could see that Daymond enjoyed being with a “big kid.”  As he twirled round and round on the Paratrooper ride, Daymond could be heard to scream, “This is the best day of my life!”  A world-class grin split his face from ear to ear.  Daymond’s mom smiled and stated, “He just loves this event.  We have been coming for three years now and he has been talking about this all summer.  Daymond’s brother is away this week, staying with his biological grandparents in Florida, and he really misses him.  Thank goodness for Sarah. Because of her he is feeling really special today.”  

And special is what this day is all about.  One young man commented to his adopted mom, “You mean all of these families have kids who are DCF?”  His mom responded, “Yes, all of these families have kids who are either in foster care or who have been adopted like you.”  This is another one of the goals of this annual outing – to make families and children feel like they belong.  Because foster and adoptive families are often multi-ethnic and multi-racial, they don’t look like typical northwestern CT families.  FAM provides this opportunity to be one of the gang – to simply belong.