Meanwhile on the World’s Fair Park: Walk to Cure Diabetes

Walk to Cure Diabetes, World’s Fair Park, Knoxville, 2011

This past Saturday was also the day for the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes. Several thousand people gathered at the World’s Fair Park where booths and entertainment for children dominated the happy scene. Many families and teams of walkers joined together to make the scene a festive one.

Activities for the children (who were gone on the walk when this picture was taken)

Urban Toddler says, “I’ll just hang here and watch the river flow.”

Past events have raised serious money for research and judging from the crowd, this year’s event must have been very successful, also. How successful? I have no idea. I didn’t see this mentioned in any media outlet and I couldn’t find anything online.

The instructors were really into it.

Kids exercise before walking 3.1 miles. Adults stare in disbelief.

The crowd was warmed up with loud exercise music and some really pumped up instructors. The kids seemed to get into it, while the adults gathered around but seemed to be sending signals to the stage, “I’m about to walk three miles, I’m not dancing.” Then they all left for the 5K through downtown. Some ran, most walked. When they returned the activities continued into the afternoon with live music and fun games.

And off they go . . . the start of the 5K Walk to Cure Diabetes

I suppose it is a testament to how much is happening in and around downtown that several thousand people can do something that gets little to no coverage.