Orlando Kids Festival organizers and visitors try to beat Central Florida heat

Orlando Kids Festival at Lake Eola

The first Orlando Kids Festival took place at Lake Eola underneath the shade Saturday morning.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The first Orlando Kids Festival took place in the shade of Lake Eola Park, this morning. "I think it's awesome," said Elise Hanson, an Orlando mother who showed up for the event, "we were looking for something to do today, and it's nice to get him out of the house and see some new things."

The event featured vendors, inflatables, face painting, entertainment, games, food trucks, and giveaways. Organizers said all registered kids would get a free goody bag.

Orlando Kids Festival organizers said they hoped to make the event an annual tradition. "I think it's important to have things centered around kids," said organizer Kezia Malcom.

With high temperatures in Orlando throughout the weekend, organizers were taking steps for the visitors to stay cool. "I have a cooler full of water, I've seen people with coolers full of water. We wanted to have the cool misting fans but didn't have time to implement that," Malcom said.

Visitors also tried to beat the heat. "Well you see I have my sunglasses, I also have my umbrella here, and it's got a breeze today, so it should be good," said visiting grandmother Sherrie Hines.

Experts said getting to a cool place, sipping water, and putting a wet cloth on your head can help bring your body temperature back to normal if you're feeling too hot. Especially on a hot weekend like this, emergency officials say staying hydrated is key.

"Sports drinks, electrolytes replace them not as quickly as possible," said one central Florida EMT, "you don't want to take just a full solid style drink and mix it half-and-half but again just be mindful once you get to thirsty that's the first state of dehydration."