About 350 people filled the Kaikorai Presbyterian Church as it hosted a day aimed at "celebrating children and bringing families together", children's pastor Amanda Guy said.
The day was a joint effort with three other churches in the area and community groups, which set up stalls to promote themselves.
"As a church, we want to connect with the community as much as we can," Mrs Guy said.
Children could play on a bouncy castle, have their faces painted, eat candy floss and play games organised by Sport Otago.
Two "old fashioned fun" activities which required preparation at home were bike and trike decorating and kite making competitions.
"We wanted to do things which caused families to spend time with the kids," she said.
Brittany Hodges (10) enjoyed the bouncy castle while Blossom O'Neill's (10) favourite part of the day was entering her kite in the competition after taking two days to make it.
It was hoped the church's event would become an annual one and would grow each year.
Another fun day was held at the Edgar Centre yesterday afternoon, with live entertainment from a balloon sculptor and dance groups as well as karaoke.
Co-ordinated by Te Wai Matua Trust the "He Mokopuna He Taonga - Children are our Treasures" event, focused on raising awareness of the impact of family violence on children.
Bouncy castles, face painting and arts and crafts were available for children to participate in.
Organiser Cinnamon Boreham said more than 4000 parents and their children attended.
"It was wonderful. People were queuing for an hour just for face painting. It was an amazingly successful day."
