A Day at the Circus story by Jim Dean and Fran Kelsen photography by Fran Kelsen and Nick Dean See also: More photos   What can be more fun than a Circus Day with 300 kids enjoying a moonwalk, face painting, carnival games, purple snow cones, and hot pretzels? That's exactly what was going on at the OSU Athletic Field Thursday August 6.

Some of the kids' favorites were BigEyes the clown and his friends Drippy and Dribble. More than 100 kids stared in silent awe as staff from the Columbus Zoo introduced the audience to exotic animals: a boa constrictor, black-footed penguin, Madagascar cockroach, legless lizard, and a prairie dog.

How brave does a volunteer need to be? Beth Ann Clark demonstrated to the group how to make friends with a Madagascar Cockroach. Her dad is a member of Team Philadelphia and will be competing in bicycling and track and field. Once again this year Kid's Time is living up to all the excitement and thrills that come with putting kids of all ages from all over the U.S. together in one place. They are able to enjoy what only can be described as a once in a lifetime chance to make friends that will last for a long time to come.

One of the highlights of the event was seeing all the National Kidney Foundation staff wearing red clown noses. Cornelia Cavanagh, International Activity Director for the National Kidney Foundation and director of the Kid's Time event said, "I'm hoping that the younger kids can really feel part of the Games through this event."

The photos say it all...

Jonathan Eisen (accompanied by his mom Gay of Team Middle Tennessee) said they were very excited to meet so many wonderful people. This is their first trip to the Transplant Games (from their hometown of Nashville) and Gay is hoping for a medal in tennis singles.
	Beatrice Rubin, here to cheer for her mom Elizabeth (a liver recipient who will race walk for Team Philadelphia) enjoys a special moment with a clown.
Jeffery Richards and Alexander Rose, both 11 years old and from Team Philadelphia, stopped by Kid's Time before their basketball game. Both Jeff and Alex have had kidney transplants for more than five years. So far, the highlights of the games for them have been marching into the stadium with their team, and getting to eat pizza twice since they've been in Columbus.
	Kai Dambach, 6½ years old, has already played a baseball game for Team Maryland. Kai has had two kidney transplants. His dad was a living donor for him when he was two, and his mom then gave him a kidney when he was four.
Danielle Grande, 15 months, was enjoying the animal show. She came to root for Team Maine; her mom Donna is the team manager.   See also: More photos