Photo by Chris Drummond Members of the Marshall Dance team with coaches Lexi Wolf and Toni Vorvick promote the team during the Youth Sports and Activity Expo on Saturday.

MARSHALL — Twenty-five vendors put exhibits on display during the second annual Youth Sports and Activity Expo Saturday morning inside the Red Baron Arena and Expo.

The expo was an opportunity for organizations to educate youths and their parents with exhibits. This year, vendors offered interactive opportunities, which helped youths see the sports and activities offered.

“I think the vendors kind of understood and got to see what the people wanted from last year,” Director of Visit Marshall Cassi Weiss said. “It was the interaction part. They are definitely more interactive this year. The benefits of having an expo like this for a parent who is new to town or doesn’t know the opportunities that Marshall presents, this is a great place to come and find them all in one spot.

“(It’s) just a different way to find out about these associations so that they could come and sign up. This is free to the public for anyone who is interested. This is something we plan on doing every year around this time as well.”

The Lyon County Museum was one of the vendors. Executive Director Jennifer Andries talked about some of the opportunities that the museum presents for kids and the expo is a benefit.

“The museum is located in downtown Marshall and it is open year-round,” Andries said.”We want to be a place where families can go in the summertime. We also do a Pioneer camp in the summer.”

The Pioneer camp is run through the Marshall Community Services. The camp is held in June and July. Youths can learn about Native American history, immigration history and farming. Youths will also participate in arts and crafts as well.

Another vendor that attended the expo was the Marshall High School robotics team led by Kelly Schuerman. This team started back in 2008 and continues to evolve which each passing year.

“It’s challenging,” Schuerman said. “People don’t really understand all the aspects of it. We have a need of students for photography, videography and marketing. In order for us to post to social media, we need students to take pictures and record videos for social media. We have to do some fundraising so we can do new and unique things we haven’t done before. This event is fantastic. It is a great opportunity for us to be noticed because we don’t get a lot of exposure. This gives us a great opportunity for us to show the community that we exist. So now it is finding kids that may be interested and encourage to take part in this.”

The Marshall High School dance team led by coaches Lexi Wolf and Toni Vorvick also displayed an exhbit. The dance team has the longest season of the sports but starts in November at a time where it is difficult to get members to join with all the other sports going on.

“I think this expo is beneficial to get it out to the community,” Wolf said. “Dance team isn’t a well-known sport especially in this community. It is great to show what our dance team is, the culture we have, and get more immersed in the community. This is truly a team sport and the team is really close. So if you like to dance and be around great people, then you should join.”

The team ranges from seventh to 12th grade and opened to girls and boys.

SJ Miller Arts offers interactive activities involving painting on paper. The exhibit attracted a large number of parents and youths.

Ben Blomme was among the parents impressed with what the expo offered.

“It is really cool to kind of give the kids the opportunity to see multiple sports and activities in one centralized location,” Blomme said. “Our kids are little young at two and four, but they enjoy seeing the different activities available and trying new things. The activity that wowed me was the baton throwing. Our 4-year-old daughter saw that and was really interested. We didn’t know that baton throwing was an activity around town.”