The Kidz Time Festival this weekend was just what the children ordered for one Myrtle Beach nanny.

A petting zoo, inflatable obstacle course and face painting helped nanny Jamie Seaman entertain the Brokaw children a day before their parents were to return from a weeklong trip.

Seaman pushed 5-month-old Chloe Brokaw in a stroller through the crowd at Myrtle Square Mall on Saturday with siblings Hayley, 7, Tommy, 4, and family friend Stacey Spirov, 6, in tow.

"We've had a great day," Seaman said. "It's been very busy. We had to wait in lines everywhere we went."

The children beamed as they recounted their day. They met Clifford, the Big Red Dog; planted sunflowers; and had their faces painted.

"Obviously, you can tell it was worth it," Seaman said.

The festival continues today and is sponsored by Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., Wendy's, Carolina Events and Tents, radio station WMYB-FM, Time Warner Cable and The Sun News.

The festival's goal is to put children and their parents in the spotlight during a fun and educational event.

"It's really nice," said festival-goer Pam De Grood of Myrtle Beach. "I'm really impressed."

De Grood's son Will and his friend Sean Huggins, both 4, learned about helpfulness, unity and self-discipline at a booth sponsored by the Baha'i Faith's Horry County Assembly. The lessons they learned Saturday were part of a bean-bag toss game in which children won candy.

"Sean, you've got to be helpful," Jo Ann Borovicka, a Baha'i member, reminded the youngster when he forgot to pick up his bean bags before running to the candy bowl.

This year's festival was held at the mall instead of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where workers are constructing a high-rise hotel.

Socastee resident Laurie Grubb said she enjoyed the festival more this year because it was at the mall. She said her twin 2-year-old sons, Garrett and Joey, were intimidated by the large room at the convention center.

"This is better," Grubb said. "It's good for the businesses that haven't seen the parking lots full in a long time."

Another set of twins Taylor and Tiffany Marsh, 8, raced each other through the Swamper Stomper, an inflatable obstacle course. While the day was about sharing the spotlight, mom Carol Marsh was happy to carry her daughters' shoes and their animal balloons.

"This is tiring," Carol Marsh said. "They are having a great time."

Contact NATALIE BURROWES PRUITT 444-1722 or nburrowes@thesunnews.com.

©Copyright 2002, The Sun News