Photo by Shelley Hanson Blair Boggs, 6, daughter of Sam Boggs tries on a firefighter helmet at the Cumberland Trail Fire District’s station during the Noon Year’s Eve Party at the Ohio Valley Mall on Wednesday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Hundreds of children and their families rang in 2026 during the Noon Year’s Eve Party on Wednesday at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville.

The event included music by a DJ and a variety of activities and informational booths throughout the mall.

At noon, hundreds of colorful balloons suspended in a net at the ceiling were released during a roaring countdown by the crowd.

As the balloons fell, the children gleefully grabbed them and stepped on them to make them pop. Other children sat on the balloons to pop them.

Still others decided to keep their balloons and take them home as souvenirs.

Curtis Kyer, fire marshal for the Cumberland Trail Fire District, and his fellow firefighters had a station set up for children to play in. It was a child-sized Firefighter Combat Challenge Course, complete with a pretend house fire to distinguish, a small mannequin to rescue and fire hose to carry.

“We’ve done this every year for the last four or five years,” he said, adding the children enjoy the activities and the station often attracts a crowd.

“I joke that I’m going to put applications on the table,” he added.

Attendee Sam Boggs brought her children 6-year-old Blair and 1-year-old Brock to the party.

“It’s a free event. We’ve been coming since she was a baby,” she said.

Boggs said it allows the children to celebrate the new year without having to stay up until midnight. She also enjoys all the informational tables and activities.