A group of people sit on the shores of Buckeye Pond at Buckeye Park in Marietta during the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97’s Take Kids Fishing Day Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Families gathered outside in the sunshine at Buckeye Park Saturday for some fun during the Internal Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 97 annual Take Kids Fishing Day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Buckeye Park.

A large group of people both young and old could be seen surrounding the pond and Buckeye Park with rods and reels in hand hoping to make a big catch.

Attendees had the chance to enjoy hotdogs, chips, drinks, goodie bags, and the main attraction, a chance to fish.

IBEW Local 97 provided each child who attended the event a new fishing pole already outfitted with a line and hook, IBEW Local 97 Member Nicole Webster said.

IBEW Local 97 held the event for a while before COVID, but then stopped because of the pandemic and then started the event back up three years ago, she said.

Kyliegh Stevens casts her line into Buckeye Pond at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97’s Take Kids Fishing Day Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Take Kids Fishing Day was started “to get people out and together to show that the IBW, we’re for labor, but we’re here for the community too.” she said. “It’s fun to see how excited the kids get.”

The pond at Buckeye Park mainly holds bluegill but it also has some bass, according to Webster, and about 130 people showed up at Take Kids Fishing Day to try and catch them.

“I think it’s the best turnout we’ve had in the last three years,” she said.

Terri Hallowell and her husband Ronnie Hallowel brought their grandchildren to Take Kids Fishing Day, including their granddaughter Kylie Stevens. They even brought Stevens’ friend Abby Lockyear.

Terri Hallowell said they brought the children to the event because “they love to fish.”

Abby Lockyear sits waiting for a bite during the Take Kids Fishing Day Saturday at Buckeye Park. The event was hosted by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

She said it was the first time in a while that they have all come to Take Kids Fishing Day.

Stevens and Lockyear both said they were having fun at the event.

Stevens said fishing is one of her favorite things to do because “I like to hold the fish.”

Neither girl had caught a fish a couple of hours into the event and they even got their lines tangled together, but that didn’t seem to phase either child.

“At least we’re having fun,” Stevens said.