A family affair

MOMS Club sponsors inaugural information event

SM/SL/VIEW--Families attend the Family Affair event organized by 'MOMS' club of Las Vegas,Summerlin. The event gave vendors an opportunity to showcase goods and services for families. Tuesday, February 1,2005--View photo by shelly donahue SM/SL/VIEW--Alexis Smith, age 5, right and Olivia Smith, age 3 1/2, play between two vendor stalls at the 'Family Affair' event organized by the 'MOMS' club of Summerlin. Tuesday, February 1,2005--View photo by shelly donahue

Strollers abounded. Infant seats with sleeping babies dangled from mothers' arms. And everywhere one looked, young children got on tip-toes to survey just-out-of-reach displays.

The two-hour event was the first Family Fair for MOMS Club of Las Vegas-Summerlin, held at the West Sahara Library. Flanking the large conference room were tables displaying plenty of items of interest for mothers.

The fair originated as a simple idea.

"The board initially said, 'Let's do something small for the community,' " said Laura Friedlander, MOMS group president. "But it kind of snowballed on us."

Summerlin Hospital was there promoting its prenatal education program as well as its Mommy and Me Yoga and its breast feeding support group. Eco-Dolly took orders for a wheeled frame for stacking and moving recycle bins. Dream Dinners, a one-stop concept for assembling multiple meals, was on hand. Against the back wall, Direct Marketing got some double takes with its tent business cards made to look like $100 bills.

"We teach moms how to work from home," said Jean Bales, representative for the phone-based work. "They can make an extra $300 to $500 a month and they don't have to comb their hair or change their slippers."

Some of the tables represented MOMS Club members who run a business from home. Holly Rivney sold her handcrafted candles, brought in from the parking lot in her toddler's wagon. Her son Mitchell, 3 1/2, was there helping with the display.

"When we were getting things ready, he looked at me and asked, 'Are you going to sell my wagon?' " Rivney said.

Carrie Reed's Tastefully Simple table was one of the displays that always seemed to have a crowd around it, but why not? It displayed at least a dozen foods to sample. Its concept is selling items that only need two ingredients.

"I've been with the company seven months but I've been sampling their food for three years," Reed said, then grinned when a little boy darted over to snag another piece.

Besides members of the group, the turnout saw mothers who brought their young children to the library's storytime program and decided to wander in and check out the displays. The MOMS group estimated 150 attended.

Marcie Ludwig of Spring Valley said there were a lot of novel things to help a busy mother. The part-time nurse said she'd like to see someone invent cups that didn't leak after they were run through the dishwasher a couple of times.

Corrine Flatt, a midwife who came from Sunrise Mountain area, said the most innovative item was a line of lotions with UV protection.

Karleena Landini of Summerlin, there with her two toddlers and one on the way, said she especially liked the children's movies and educational items.

The Discovery Toys table was a magnet for toddlers. They happily wandered over and plopped on the floor to play with the brightly colored items -- fabric books, a snake-like chain of large beads, a soft-sided drum and a three-foot tall structure that channeled balls down gutters.

Korri Nelson passed out information to the mothers who chased children to the popular tot spot. She jostled her own 11-month-old son, a last-minute addition to her morning after her husband was called to work.

"I chose not to sell anything today because it's just too hard to keep track of it," Nelson said, adding she expected to garner more orders from the Family Fair than the house parties she normally sells at.

MOMS Club of Las Vegas-Summerlin was formed in April 2004 after splintering off from a group in the northwest part of town. The Summerlin chapter began with 18 members and now has 42.

It meets once a month at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., and offers weekly activities like playground days, visiting a petting zoo, touring Ethel M's Chocolates and holding scrapbook and recipe swapping days.

"We try to vary what we do," said Stephanie Webster, vice president of membership. "We organize play groups by age and members can meet as often as they want."

The group is holding a membership drive meeting 9:30 a.m. April 6 at the library. For more information call Friedlander at 736-6196.