What’s up

Finding fun and safe activities for the kids can be a daunting task, but a Los Angeles group is trying to make that search a little easier with a Saturday show full of fun activities for the family.

Dozens of summer camps, classes and activities will present their offerings this weekend at the What’s Up For Kids Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds. The event will also feature action-sports entertainment, a rock climbing wall and a miniature golf course.

Expo organizer and owner Cathy Alessandra created What’s Up For Kids nearly a decade ago in Los Angeles’ South Bay area after struggling to find activities for her family.

“Having three children of my own, I knew how frustrating it was not having any resources to find that type of information,” she said. “For parents, especially working parents trying to make a decision, it’s difficult to obtain the information they need.”

Alessandra started a newsletter to publicize kids activities and family-friendly venues.

“The next logical step was to create the expo series,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun for me to do the event. It’s one place parents can do a lot of searching or shopping.”

More than a dozen camps will be exhibiting at the event, including the popular Cottontail Ranch tucked in the Malibu hills and Cybercamps, which teaches youngsters video game design and robotics. There’s even Day Jams Rock Music Day Camp, at which campers join a band, write songs and perform live concerts.

The expo is a good opportunity for parents to meet camp directors and staff before sending their children off to an unknown place, Alessandra said.

Many of the camps featured in this year’s expo are accredited by the American Camp Assn., which requires members to meet 300 standards, covering, for example, transportation and food services.

“For a lot of parents, this shows that a camp cares enough to participate in the program,” said Michele Branconier, the association’s executive director for Southern California and Hawaii.

“Anytime you look at a camp, there’s a triad of decision-makers: the parents, the child and the camp itself. Parents should really look at the children’s needs and what the child be getting out of it,” she said. “We like to say that there is a camp for every child, but every camp isn’t for every child.”

Other venues such as the Discovery Center, Club Med vacation centers and the Action Kids Fitness Center will be exhibiting at this year’s expo. For kids, there will be many interactive activities, including a stunt bike performance by the Giant Bicycles racing team.

“We want to make it easy and accessible to spend quality time with families on the weekend,” Alessandra said.

IF YOU GO