AUBURN - Football and phonics were the words of the afternoon Sunday at Cayuga Community College.

Hundreds of families gathered in the Spartan Hall gymnasium for the eighth annual February Family Fun Day. Children and parents geared up for the Super Bowl with dozens of activities that encouraged healthy lifestyles and literacy.

Unsurprisingly, the afternoon's theme was football. The Eat Well, Play Hard program provided free toy balls, football-related games, and healthy snacks for the children and the Auburn High School cheerleaders held demonstrations throughout the four-hour event. Attendees were even able to put together homemade pennants at the arts and crafts table.

But reading proved to be one of the biggest attractions, as the Family Fun Day also served as the kickoff for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Cayuga County. The Imagination Library is a nationwide program that sends a new book to pre-kindergarten children every month. Registration brochures were available at the event, and many parents paid the $27 fee Sunday to sign their child up for the year.

Community leaders like Mayor Michael Quill, Auburn High football coach Dave Moskov, Tom Adessa and Auburn Councilor Gilda Brower read stories to groups of children throughout the afternoon to celebrate the program's arrival.

“The Imagination Library has gotten everybody really excited,” said Nancy Tehan, Success By 6 coordinator in Cayuga County. “We have read so many good things about what has happened in the communities that have had this program.”

While there are hundreds of Imagination Library programs from coast to coast, Cayuga County is only one of two communities to offer it in New York state, Tehan said. Hopefully, the program will help to make reading a bigger priority in households throughout the county, she said.

“As soon as you start reading with your children, you are interacting with them, you are talking with them, and you are building their vocabulary,” Tehan said. “If we can create a community with kids who love to read, we are taking a huge step in helping them succeed in school.”

Sue Jones is also excited about the Imagination Library. The director of Neighborhood House, Jones said she would like to see all the children in the child care and education center sign up. A child who is signed up at birth will enter kindergarten with 60 books in his or her personal library.

“There is something so powerful for a child about getting mail, too,” Jones said. “Just imagine being a kid and waiting for the books, opening the package and getting so excited.”

Auburn resident Jennifer Coleman signed her 3-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, up Sunday for the Imagination Library. However, the books were not her only reason for showing up. Coleman's son, Jacob, 7, was also able to burn off some steam on the physical activities, which included an obstacle course, a bouncy castle and a football-throwing game.

“I wanted to get them out of the house for a while,” Coleman said. “It is just a nice thing to do for some family fun. And it is out of the cold.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net,