Pocono Talk

Pocono Parent Magazine held its 4th annual spring expo this past Saturday from 11am – 4pm at Stroudsburg Intermediate Elementary School.

The expo is free to attend and had a lot to offer for Pocono Families.   We were greeted warmly by Pocono Parent staff and were given information on their “Local Values” which you could sign up for free to receive coupons for the Pocono area.

They had plenty of free fun things for the kids from characters walking around – we spotted Spongebob and Elmo, free face painting, tattoos and a painting craft by Home Depot.  The company that was suppose to be offering free kits, Digikids I believe was unavailable so the people from McGruff were offering their basic kit for free that day.

All in all it was informative, a lot of vendors had summer camp information and programs you could sign your kids up for from karate to soccer to music lessons.  It was a good array of vendors and information, my only complaint was that it was really really hot and our baby was very uncomfortable and cranky because of it.  Besides that it was a good and if you’re looking for local Pocono resources for your kids I’d definitely recommend stopping by next year or this fall for their next expo.

Pocono Parent Magazine Family Expo 2008
This upcoming Saturday, May 3rd, 2008,  is the Pocono Parent Magazine Family Expo.  I personally have not had the chance to attend the past few years and although we have previous plans this weekend that doesn’t mean that you can’t go!

Its FREE to attend – most expos require at least a few dollar admission charge but its absolutely free so if nothing else it can get some family energy out for a few hours by walking around.  It is located at the Pocono Mountain East High School Gym – apparently last year there were many complaints that the location was too small and that there were barely room to fit strollers up and down the isles.  This year they have planned ahead and have picked a much larger location to accomodate everyone.  I can’t blame them at all if there was a size issue last year since it is a free event so no prior registration means that you’re pretty much guessing how many people will attend.

The event will feature information on local programs of interest to Pocono families including crafts, childcare, summer camps and more. They will also be giving out FREE DigiKids Child ID kits – for any parent this is a huge help – no one likes to think of the possibility of their child getting lost or stolen, but if they do minutes even seconds can make a difference.  ID kits normally store a digital photo(that you usually have access to update) and some basic information incase of an emergency it can be distributed quickly.  As important as having a kit is making sure it gets updated, so if you do get one be sure to revisit it every year – or set it as a reminder when you change your clocks/batteries for daylight savings time.

If you do not already receive Pocono Parent Magazine and would like to subscribe it is FREE, just visit their site at PoconoParent.com and click on the “subscribe free” link.  The magazine started just a few years ago but is a great resource for all families in the Poconos, it provides useful monthly columns, restaurant reviews, activities for your children and more!