Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
Photo: Carolyn Van Houten / Carolyn Van Houten
As summer vacation winds down, thousands of parents brought their children to the Freeman Coliseum on Saturday for the Back 2 School Expo, an annual event that offers free school supplies, immunizations and games.
The line for the school supplies — one free backpack and a bag full of pencils, crayons, notebooks, rulers and other goodies for each student — wrapped all the way around the interior of the coliseum’s Expo Hall. Cox Media Group, which runs seven local radio stations, has been putting on the event for about 15 years, said Jennifer Schultz, promotions manager at The Eagle 106.7 and 99.5 KISS FM.
“It’s for everybody, but it really focuses and fills a need in our community for underprivileged children,” she said.
The event has grown over the years as more radio stations have become involved, Schultz said. Last year, more than 4,000 parents and children attended.
Several local nonprofits set up booths at the event, signing up families for medical programs and offering free services such as eye exams, head lice removal and haircuts. But many areas of the event were just for fun, including a face-painting station, a modeling runway and a booth for Elite Force, a company that sells airsoft guns.
Companies and organizations such as Academy Sports + Outdoors, CommuniCare Health Centers and the San Antonio Aquarium made donations to the event. It was also supported by Alamo Area Colleges and the Brain Balance Achievement Centers, a program devoted to helping children overcome learning problems.
Pamela Knight, of the Northwest Side, came to the expo with her grandson and granddaughter, who are entering first and fourth grade, respectively. They spent a long time waiting in line for the school supplies, but it wasn’t as bad as last year when they had to wait outside, she said.
After getting their free backpacks, she and her grandchildren planned to stick around to enjoy the fun and games, she said.
“It’s for the kids. It helps the kids out,” she said.
One of the recreational booths belonged to the San Antonio chapter of the Texas Lego User Group, an organization of about 80 local Lego aficionados. They set up a train track running along a row of Lego sets, including a haunted house, a miniature Apple store and a Ghostbusters car. And they had plenty of Lego supplies available to satisfy the imaginations of children visiting the expo.
“What I like about Lego more than anything else is it creates what I call Lego moments,” when children become excited about what they’ve built, said Chris Macdougald, founder of the local chapter. “It creates a family moment where kids and adults can play together.”
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