Kids Play And Parents Learn At Hear Here Fun Fest

By Steve McLean

Hear Here Fun Fest

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The Hear Here Fun Fest wrapped up its ninth year on Sept. 13, and it continues to get bigger and better as it allows kids to play and their parents to learn – all while raising money for two very worthy causes to help hearing impaired children.

Hear Here raised approximately $10,000, bringing its nine-year total to about $80,000. All of the money is given to: The Hospital For Sick Children's Peter And Margery Keller Fund, which helps cover out-of-pocket expenses for families who might not otherwise be able to afford hearing aids for their kids; and VOICE For Hearing Impaired Children, a parent support organization whose mission statement is "To ensure that all hearing impaired children have the right to develop their ability to listen and speak and have access to services which will enable them to listen and speak."

Close to 2,000 people ventured to Camp Robin Hood outside of Markham, Ont. for the six-hour fest, which featured wagon rides, canoeing, archery, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, tennis, mini-golf, a jungle gym, a variety of inflatable rides, face-painting, animal experiences and a performance by Treehouse TV's Markus (whose two children are both hearing impaired), who wrote a special song for the occasion.

Admission was free, with the $30,000 cost of the event being covered by corporate sponsors. Money was raised for the charities through selling food, play-all-day passes and raffle draw tickets for $5,000 worth of prizes.

Companies that are normally competitors join together at Hear Here in support of the common goal, but also get to showcase their latest products to help hearing impaired youngsters.

"There's a tent with manufacturers that have all the education that parents need," said Union Hearing Aid Centre co-owner and Hear Here organizer Chris Kyroglou. "We usually get a flood of phone calls the next day with people with questions and orders for the new technology."

"The parents are really appreciative of it, but the kids are here just to have fun," added Kyroglou's business partner, Nick Veronico.

One of those appreciative parents is Kermit Canam, whose 14-year-old daughter Kendra was born with severe hearing problems that weren't detected until she was three, but now functions normally through wearing hearing aids in both ears. He's brought his family to Hear Here every year and said he continues to find out new things.

Portable music players are popular with teens, and The Hearing Foundation Of Canada conducted tests at Hear Here to show them how loud they can be. A lot of kids found they were listening at 120 decibels, while 85 is the recommended maximum in order to avoid noise-induced hearing loss.

"I think a lot of teenagers don't know what they're doing to themselves, and it really doesn't manifest itself until you're much older," said Veronico.

Bobby Baun is 73 and is best known for winning four Stanley Cups as a defenceman with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the '60s. He was an avid duck hunter and skeet and trap shooter, and worked around loud equipment when he turned to farming after his hockey career ended. The man who scored a game-winning overtime goal in the 1964 Stanley Cup finals against Detroit while playing on a broken ankle admitted to being "one of those macho guys" who never wore proper hearing protection during those noisy activities.

Baun now wears two hearing aids and has been a spokesman for Widex's hearing products for six years. He signed autographs and told his story at Widex's Hear Here booth, where kids could shoot hockey pucks at targets.

"When I started wearing hearing aids, I thought there was an opportunity to tell people about what I didn't do correctly," said Baun. "I went into denial mode, which is dreadful to both your family and yourself.

"You don't realize how much you become uncommunicative and how you think people are putting the blame on you for different things, so you lose your self-esteem. Communication is so important today and these little people just need the opportunity to be able to talk and express themselves and not feel that everybody's mad at them. That's exciting for me."

Hear Here was exciting for everyone who attended, and here's to next year's 10th annual event carrying on that tradition.