SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — It rained marshmallows in a suburban Detroit park on Friday as children rushed to pick up thousands of sticky treats dropped from a helicopter.
The annual Great Marshmallow Drop took place at Catalpa Oaks County Park in Southfield, hosted by Oakland County Parks.
Hundreds of children waved and cheered as the helicopter passed by on its way to the drop zone. Once there, a passenger tossed the treats out of a bag and onto the grass below and children rushed to retrieve them.
Officials stressed that while the fluffy treats are tempting, they should not be eaten because they touch the ground. Instead, children exchanged the marshmallows they collected for a prize bag containing candy, a coloring book and a day pass to a water park.
Melissa Nawrocki, supervisor of the Oakland County Recreation Program, said before the event that 15,000 marshmallows would be dropped off.
“It was just a party. The weather is nice, so we enjoyed getting out and picking up some marshmallows,” said Robin Kinnie, the mother of three Great Marshmallow Drop participants, one of whom took part in a special drop reserved for children with a handicap.
The helicopter made four passes and dropped marshmallows targeted at children in three age categories: 4-year-olds and younger; Children from 5 to 7 years and children from 8 to 12 years. The drop for children with disabilities came later in the day.
“As a special needs mom, I like to see events like this for him so he doesn’t feel left out,” Kinnie said.