DAPHNE, Ala. — Hannah Hutchins, 7, of Daphne has been going to Wet-n-Wild Wednesdays in Daphne at Lott Park for all her life, she said.

Even though she has been there more times than she can count on her hands and toes, Hutchins said she wouldn’t miss it for the world, and she always finds a way to entertain herself for hours.

“I have been coming here since I was a little girl,” Hutchins said. “My favorite part about coming is to ride all the rides. I like all the rides. My favorite is the fishy one (The Big Kahuna).”

Her mother said it was an event you could come back to year after year.

“We are going to come back next week. We come all the time. As soon as I (say) ‘Wet-n-Wild,’ she is all ready to go. She knows exactly what it is,” her mother Tammy Hutchins said. “The parents really appreciate what they do. They (the city) try to give us a quality product every year.”

All of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

“I like water and all this stuff,” Elizabeth D’Olive, 2, said. Her mother said the big slides were a bit of a surprise for her daughter, but she loved them anyway. 

Julianna Hearn, 6, had a lot of fun during the event, but noticed a slight downside from getting wet in Lott Park.

“It is getting disgusting,” she said, because all of the grass was sticking to her. “My favorite part was riding the slides. I liked the fish one best because it was the cleanest.”

“My favorite part was going on the slides,” Tristan Hearn, 3, said.

Tyler Otto, 4, came to the event after seeing a flyer for it at the library.

“We took him to the library and we saw the little flyer so we thought this would just be a good way to spend some summer time,” Linda Brents said.

Adrienne Smith said she and her friends bring their children to the event often.

“It is free. It is fun. It is community. It is a hundred degrees and you can’t beat water. It is also friends. Nobody can give an excuse why they can’t come out. Giggles are free. The kids are having fun,” Smith said.

Daphne’s recreation department hosts three Wet-n-Wild Wednesday events in Lott Park each summer to give residents a reprieve from the rising temperatures. For each event, the department sets up inflatable pools for younger children, some inflatable water slides for the older children and it is all capped off by what Hutchins called “the finale,” during which the fire department turns their hose on the children enjoying the event.

David McKelroy, head of the recreation department, said the city sponsors the event because there are no public pools in the city. He said this will be at least the eighth year the city has sponsored the event.

Residents who missed the first event can still splish-splash on June 22 and June 29 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“We are offering a way to get out of the heat. It is just a little refreshing break from the heat. The stay-at-home moms and even the daycares use it as a nice little break. It gives them an opportunity to not have to plan something for their children,” McKelroy said.