Photo by Deb Gau In the photo, swinging across a series of hanging rings was one of the challenges kids tried out at the “Ninja Anywhere” obstacle course Friday night at Sounds of Summer.

MARSHALL — Sounds of Summer packed a lot of activity into one place Friday evening.

Crowds of people were moving through the Whitney parking lot downtown, stopping at food stands, vehicle displays, inflatables and more.

For many of the kids at the festival, part of the fun was testing their agility at the “Ninja Anywhere” obstacle course.

“I liked that they added the ninja course,” said Ava Brunsvold. Brunsvold and Sarah Nielsen said it was one of the things they definitely wanted to try at Sounds of Summer’s Family Fun Night. The obstacle course had different features, from hanging rings to balance beams and a climbing wall.

Andrik Neville seemed intensely focused as he ran across a series of stepping stones.

“I really like doing obstacle courses,” Neville said. He even added his own flair to the balance course, doing a front flip at the very end.

“It was fun,” said Autumn Lewis, after trying the course. “The hard part was the one that was really high, and you had to climb up a rope.”

Lewis said her favorite part was a plank-shaped obstacle that she had to hang from.

Another draw for kids Friday evening were the emergency vehicles and big trucks on display in one part of the lot. Families could climb up into the cab of a snowplow, honk the horn of a garbage truck, or meet the camera robot Marshall city workers use to televise sewer pipes.

“We send this guy down all the pipes we can’t reach,” Cade Clear explained to visitors.

Kids could see themselves on the robot’s camera feed.

It wasn’t just the kids’ activities that brought people out to Sounds of Summer. There was the festival atmosphere, and a chance to meet up with friends.

“We’ve been coming to Sounds of Summer since it started,” Steven Nelson said.

Nelson and Linda Zingler were part of a group of people who had set up lawn chairs right in front of the Sounds of Summer stage to hear the night’s musical performances, from the Singing Q’s and the White Keys.

The music was one of the things Zingler said she enjoyed about the festival.

“I like wide variety of music,” she said.

Nelson said the people were also part of what made Sounds of Summer enjoyable.

“You meet old friends you haven’t seen in a while. It’s just a friendly atmosphere,” he said. The weather forecast this weekend was a plus, he added. “For once, it’s not hot.”