Correspondent photos / Sean Barron Sebastian Palacios, 8, of Austintown, gives his best soccer ball kick in an attempt to hit the bull’s-eye on a large target affixed with hook-and-loop fasteners, which was among the fun activities for Saturday’s annual Boardman Community Day in Boardman Park.

BOARDMAN — Connor Lewis, 8, had never set foot in Boardman Park, but you could safely say his introduction to it was a highly colorful one.

“This is a great park; I use it a lot,” Connor’s mother, Amanda Lewis of New Bedford, Pa., said. “There’s so many good things, and it’s just a fun place.”

It surely was a fun — and colorful — place for Connor on his inaugural visit, because he was among the children who took advantage of a face-painting activity, one of many that were part of Saturday’s annual Boardman Community Day.

The free funfest was aimed at celebrating the township’s history while providing a potpourri of activities, live music, games, food and other offerings for children and adults of all ages.

Suffice it to say that a significant element of fun seeped into Danae Bennett’s artwork. Bennett, 17, of Columbiana, was on the other side of the paint brush she used to add color to Connor’s face.

“(The event) is a great opportunity to just showcase the community and all of the wonderful aspects of what makes Boardman a unique and wonderful community to call home,” Karen McCallum, the park’s recreation director, said.

As enjoyable as it was for attendees to take advantage of the offerings, a focus also was on encouraging people to give something back. Specifically, the Making Kids Count organization hosted a drive for people to donate boxes of diapers, the Boardman Lions Club was accepting donations of nonperishable items for its food pantry and the park was asking for used children’s books for its free library, McCallum noted.

Among those who gave their time to participate in the Community Day gathering was Sue Andreatta of Boardman, who was one of about 20 Greenford Christian Church members who volunteered to assist with the children’s activities and many other aspects.

For her part, Andreatta had a few artistic flairs of her own — specifically, applying white paint to the front of a township road department snow plow before it’s used to remove other white material.

Even though driving in winter conditions likely was still far from most people’s minds on an 85-degree, cloudless day, she painted a hard-to-miss message on the plow to remind motorists of how they should handle the area’s roads when the snow does start to fly: “Don’t rush in ice or slush.”

Such advice also should apply before drivers are faced with slippery roads and freeways, Andreatta added.

Also represented at the event were the Boardman police and fire departments, along with Boardman Towing & Recovery. Many children enjoyed exploring the inside of a large fire truck, including Marley Spivey, 6, of Youngstown.

“My sister told me about this event, so the kids can have fun and get out of the house,” Marley’s father, Mark Spivey, said.

Also part of the festivities were Spivey’s other son, Jahjah, 4, and daughter, Yahyah, 3.

In addition, Allison Hockenberry-Hanna, project coordinator for Safe Communities, a program affiliated with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, was on hand to remind attendees of the importance of safe driving habits.

She was distributing pamphlets on the dangers of driving and multitasking, which can entail everything from cellphone use to carrying on conversations with others in the vehicle to fiddling with the radio.

“While driving, focus on the task at the moment,” Hockenberry-Hanna advised. “Put the phone down, pay attention and look out for yourself and those around you.”

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, distracted driving can be manual, which is anything that causes drivers to take one or both hands off the wheel; visual, anything that causes drivers to take their eyes off the road; and cognitive, which entails anything that takes motorists’ mind and focus off the road. The latter can include cellphone use, conversations with passengers and daydreaming.

Hockenberry-Hanna noted that since Ohio’s distracted driving law took effect, and cellphone use while driving became a primary offense, such accidents have decreased in Mahoning County. A first offense results in a $150 fine and also can mean up to two points on one’s license, she said.

The Boardman Community Day festivities wrapped up with the band No Funk, No Justice taking the Maag Outdoor Arts Theater’s stage, followed by fireworks at dusk.