Durst excited about 'biggest' KIDSFEST

FOSTORIA — Local recording artist, producer and promoter Brian Durst has hosted KIDSFEST Family Fun Festivals since 2020.But with the financial backing of Trinity Evangelical Church in Upper Sandusky and several businesses also jumping on board, Durst expects this year's version to be unlike any other KIDSFEST and perhaps the best-attended event he's hosted this year, including hip-hop shows featuring celebrity performers.This year's KIDSFEST is set for 2-5 p.m. Sept. 27, on the grounds of the Upper Sandusky church at 108 Malabar Drive, with everything — admission, food and beverages, carnival games and more — being available at no charge."Live music, live entertainment, the Glovation Circus, food, unlimited prizes — I mean, you name it, bro, we've got it," Durst said. "And, obviously, at the end of the day, we're trying to spread the word of God. We can't forget that because without the church, this doesn't happen."Alicia Baxter, a 19-year member of the church, is assisting Durst in organizing KIDSFEST."It should be a fun-filled day of spoiling the children," she said with a laugh.Durst said more than 3,000 prizes will be distributed through carnival games and other means during the event, the promotion of which on Facebook, he said, indicates about 700 people may attend."I saw a memory on Facebook," he said. "It's Sept. 27 this year. The very first one that I had was 2020, Sept. 26 — so, literally five years and one day. I didn't even realize I've been doing this for (that long). That's pretty cool. But this is going to be the biggest one. This is the first time that I've had help from anybody who wasn't, like, my family and friends and stuff. I've got the church backing this one. This one's going to be different."Durst, who grew up in Fostoria and now lives in Carey, said he wants young and old to enjoy themselves at the event, with parents and other adults partaking in games, food and beverages, taking in the live entertainment and finding joy in the sight of the youngsters having their fun."Emphasis on family," Durst said. "We don't want people just coming out and dropping their kids off. Family fun festival — that's the whole emphasis. Where else can you go for a free dinner and ice cream and bounce houses and games and prizes, a circus and just a good time for absolutely nothing?"Durst said KIDSFEST evolved from an experience he had with his son, Brydon, some years ago. Brydon, now 16, has faced developmental challenges since being born with agenesis of the corpus callosum, a condition in which a thick band of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain is partially or completely absent."I remember trying to take Brydon — I don't remember if it was the fair or a festival, but I remember he wasn't able to get on some rides and stuff because of his condition and whatnot," Brian Durst said. "It hurt my heart, man. So, I'm like, 'All right, it's like anything else: If you want to do it, do it right. ... We're going to have our own little festival.' That's what the original plan was, and then it just kind of blossomed into this annual event."Brydon has also blossomed, progressing from an infant facing low expectations for mobility or speech from medical personnel to a young man who joins his father on stage to sing as Team Brydon. The Durst duo will perform at KIDSFEST, and Brian Durst said he's working on bringing in other Christian-oriented acts.Trinity Evangelical's involvement came about after Baxter hired Durst to be the disc jockey for a special-needs-children's prom that the church hosted in the spring."He's so full of enthusiasm and encouraging and very entertaining, so I thought he would be a great person for that," Baxter said. "Plus, I follow his and his son's story. And, he used to work for me, believe it or not, back in Fostoria, at Subway. I was overseeing three different stores and two of them were in Fostoria, and he worked at the one on Countyline (Street) for us."So, that's how I originally met him. But I followed him on Facebook just because I knew him. ... I asked him to do the prom for us and he was very excited about that and it went so well that he came to me and asked if we would be interested at the church in maybe doing the KIDSFEST."Durst developed three potential levels of involvement for the church, and members of its budget board, Baxter said, "were very kind and generous to give us the higher amount to run it rather than the lower amount."She added: "That was pretty special to Brian and to me as well, and then he asked if I would help organize this stuff. So, he's been doing one side of it and throwing things at me and I do this side of it for the church to make sure everybody's safe and to gather volunteers and get it out there."Prayer circles and Bible readings will take place in addition to activities such as bounce houses, sack races, face painting, balloon art and a tug of war, being renamed a "tug of faith" for the occasion. The Glovation Circus, a Toledo-based organization, will provide entertainment in the form of stilt-walkers and jugglers."It's going to be awesome," Durst said. "Now I'm just praying for a beautiful day, but, worst-case scenario, everything can be done inside. So, rain or shine, this is happening. Ideally, we would like to have everything set up outside, with the exception of, like, the catering, and they can go inside and eat. There are a few things that we'll have inside, but we're trying to have, primarily, everything outside. That would be ideal, but, again, if weather does not allow (outside festivities), we'll put everything inside that church. It is so big. I mean, it's huge."Indeed, the church says online the upwards of 650 people attend services in three time slots each Sunday.In the case of KIDSFEST, the aim is to bring out joy on a Saturday."We're kind of winging it, but it's definitely going to be something," Baxter said. "It can be overwhelming when you don't know how many people are coming. I know how overwhelming it was, knowing we had 100 people coming for the prom. So, we're planning everything, but we're, like, leaving it open and just saying, 'Come all, come all.'"We're going to love on the kids and let them know that Jesus loves them and maybe make their day, you know?"Durst said volunteers are still being accepted to help conduct the event. Those interested should email Durst at Durst5221@gmail.