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Slime of their lives! Kids flock to Prospect Park for Nickelodeon event

Slime of their lives! Kids flock to Prospect Park for Nickelodeon event
Photo by Stefano Giovannini

Everybody finished in the Nick of time!

The Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship program and Nickelodeon hosted the 11th annual Race for the Kids at Prospect Park on Saturday, where adults and their pint-sized pals pushed themselves to the limit and had lots of fun in the process.

“He had a great time,” said 26-year-old Jonathan Kim of his 11-year-old friend Jason Li. “We beat our goal of 30 minutes, which we set for ourselves when we ran last year.”

Following the 5-kilometer race, the mentors and their kids took advantage of the Nickelodeon-themed activities as part of the network’s annual Day of Play, which included a baseball pitching station and a football obstacle course.

Big Brothers Big Sisters pairs youngsters up with positive role models, who they hang out with for four hours twice a month, catching movies, going to sports games, and other fun activities.

Kim, who has been part of the program for more than a year, said he likes to take his buddy to try new activities.

“We’re always trying new things, like archery or fishing,” said Kim. “Things he’s never done before.”

The event, which routinely attracts 4,000 participants, serves to fund the program and attract new mentors to volunteer.

Nickelodeon’s Day of Play has caused controversy in Brooklyn’s Backyard in years past, when turf-lovers complained that the event tore up the grass, turning the park’s lush meadows into barren wastelands.

But park stewards the Prospect Park Alliance claimed this year’s event used less space than previous events and no one has registered a complaint about the event — or the state of the lawn afterwards, an alliance spokeswoman said.

Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4505.