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Leon Festival to offer free fun and health information to keep kids safe this summer

Leon Festival to offer free fun and health information to keep kids safe this summer

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- Upstate University Hospital will present an afternoon and evening of fun and fireworks, featuring a performance by the national singing sensation Kidz Bop, will highlight the LEON Festival June 25 from 5 to 10 p.m. at Onondaga Lake Park. Admission to the event is free. The event celebrates the halfway mark to the winter holidays and the start of summer.

In addition to the fun activities, experts from Upstate University Hospital and Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital will be on hand to ways to ensure a safe summer for children and their families. Representatives from Upstate’s pediatric trauma service, emergency department, ear, nose and throat, Golisano After Hours, Safe Kids Upstate New York, Upstate Orthopedics, Joslin Diabetes Center and the Fitness Inclusion Center, among others, will all be on hand with free health information.

“With school winding down, we thought it would make sense that we impart some health information to ensure summer fun remains safe,” said Tamer Ahmed, MD, Upstate pediatric trauma surgeon. “With kids and families spending more time outdoors and generally being more active the opportunity for injury increases.

“Wearing helmets when biking, making sure a parent is with a child at all times around water, as well as ensuring adult supervision around campfires, are some basic strategies that we can incorporate to ensure a safe, fun summer,” he said.

In addition to Kidz Bop and the fireworks (set for 9:30 p.m. and presented by Wegmans), other featured activities include laser tag, magicians and face painters, bounce houses, a family dance party, photo booth, crafts and a special array of Big Trucks, featuring area emergency vehicles and a Mercy Flight Helicopter.

Free parking is available at Destiny USA at Solar Street Auxiliary Parking, with free shuttles running throughout the event.

The event is presented by Upstate University Hospital and the Syracuse Area Honda Dealers.

For more information, go to leonfestival.com

Caption: Kids will have an opportunity to look inside a Mercy Flight Helicopter during the LEON Festival June 25 at Onondaga Lake Park.

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