All Kids Fair comes to Samanea in Westbury 

Where can kids take a “Star Wars” light saber class, tackle an obstacle course, try out pickleball and take photos atop motorcycles all in one day? At the annual All Kids Fair on April 14 at the Samanea New York Mall in Westbury.

In addition to 13 activity areas for children, there will be three bounce houses, face painting and balloon art.

More than 80 vendors will also have booths informing participants about Long Island summer camps, after-school programs, birthday party venues, play places, health and wellness opportunities, options for children with special needs and more. “It’s a way to spend a day with your family having fun and learning about activities on Long Island,” says event organizer Barbara Kaplan.

Here’s a sneak peek at five things for children to do at the fair:

Pop into pickleball open house

Pickleball Smash-It, which has a permanent presence at Samanea, will have an open house for school-aged children to be introduced to the game. “A lot of kids don’t know how to play the game or don’t know about the game,” says Pickleball Smash-It co-owner Christopher Wierzbicki. Pros will be available on two courts to give group lessons, with equipment and balls provided, Wierzbicki says. “At some point we want to start beginner clinics and kids clinics, almost like the martial arts studios do, like a 10-week class,” he says. “We thought this was a perfect introduction to offer our services and open it to a new generation, an untapped market.”

Hop on a motorcycle

Bikers Against Child Abuse will have several motorcycles set up that children can sit on to take photos. “We’re going to have phony tattoos we’ll put on them that you can wash off with water,” says Big D, vice president and public relations director of the group, which doesn’t use real names for safety and privacy reasons. They will also have an arts and crafts table. Bikers Against Child Abuse works with abused children through Long Island agencies. “Our mission is to empower children not to be afraid of the world in which they live,” Big D says. They give children who have been abused a denim biker’s vest and let them choose their own “road name,” such as Big D. “They always look at us with their big eyes and are amazed that we’re letting them pick out their own name,” Big D says. Group members meet with the children on an ongoing basis; “They’re allowed to call us 24/7, 365 days a year,” Big D says.

Become a Jedi

Members of the Saber Guild Endor Temple light saber staged combat group will give children Padawan training at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Padawan is the “Star Wars” movie term for a new Jedi entering the Jedi academy, says Heather Quintero, director of the Long Island not for profit, which raises money for charity, such as for Cohen Children’s Medical Center. “We teach kids how to use a light saber and how to use the Force. The Force in the movies is the life energy that binds and connects everything together,” Quintero says. “Then the Sith come out. The Sith are the bad guys. The kids absolutely go crazy about it.” The battle is choreographed, Quintero says, and the children have a role. The group has plastic light sabers the kids borrow for the class, which can accommodate up to 50 children at a time, Quintero says.

Tackle an obstacle course

“We’re going to be bringing a Ninja obstacle course inspired by the ‘American Ninja Warriors' TV show,” says Anthony Giallanzo, owner of No Limit Ninja Farmingdale. The mobile version includes a 20-foot-long steel rigging with obstacles hanging from it, including gymnastic rings, trapeze bars and a floating plank, he says. There’ll also be a mini-Warped Wall, a curved wall users try to run up. “They can take a run at the course and see how far they get,” Giallanzo says. If they fall, they’ll land on mats.

For the Under 5 Crowd

Bounzity Inflatables is bringing a soft playground play set to the fair that will include a 5-by-5-foot ball pit, a bridge and a slide designed for children 5 and younger. “All the equipment is covered with a thick padding … that allows them to play without getting hurt,” says co-owner Tina Rivera. Bounzity, based in Valley Stream, rents the soft play sets out for birthday parties and camp programs. “It’s a big hit for the first birthdays,” she says. “There are so many different pieces you can add to this equipment.” Bounzity rents inflatables as well.

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.