When it began seven years ago, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival was probably the last place you would have wanted your kids to hang out. Over the years, however, festival organizers have seen interest in kid-friendly culinary activities skyrocket. So this year, they created a new “satellite” event called Fun & Fit as a Family, to teach parents and children the importance of eating healthfully and staying active.

According to South Beach Wine & Food Festival director Lee Schrager, Fun & Fit came about when celebrity chef Jamie Oliver agreed to come to South Beach for this year’s festival. Oliver has been working for years to ban junk food in U.K. schools and to get kids eating fresh, nutritious meals instead. Knowing that the charming English chef is always a huge draw, Schrager slotted him into a number of festival events including a panel discussion on kids’ nutrition,  a demo/cooking contest with Rachael Ray, a gala dinner with Mario Batali and a cooking demo at Fun & Fit. (He was also honored at an elegant Sunday brunch.)

Whereas most of the festival events are held on or near the ocean in Miami Beach, Fun & Fit took place at Jungle Island, a lush tropical zoo on Biscayne Bay in Miami. Tickets to the two-day event cost $23 (kids) or $28 (adults), but to spread the message to the widest audience possible, Fun & Fit organizers reached out to local non-profit groups and provided them with several thousand free tickets. Some families also received assistance with transportation. Event manager Ashley Shapiro says more than 11,000 people visited Jungle Island over the weekend and that it’s safe to assume virtually all of them enjoyed at least some aspect of the Fun & Fit program. Major sponsors were the South Beach Diet and Travel & Leisure Family Magazine.

Fun & Fit activities were organized into five separate “Destinations” where kids were encouraged to complete tasks or play a game and then collect a colorful bracelet.  At the end, all five bracelets could be redeemed for a pack of reusable brown paper lunch bags with healthy themed characters on the front. Most children also received a green plant (with care instructions) to take home, while others left with an EarthBox kit, a sustainable container gardening system.

Despite temperatures in the mid to high 80s, a vast obstacle course and a Zumba dance class seemed to be among the most-popular Fun & Fit activities. Kids and parents alike grabbed new healthy snacks at booths sponsored by Barilla, Subway, Lunchology and others, while vendors such as Earth Box were on hand promoting their products. In the Children's Sustainable Food Garden, kids were encouraged to explore, touch, smell and taste a variety of herbs and other plants. A botanist was on hand to answer questions and the garden will continue to flourish on a permanent basis at Jungle Island.

At the Organic Gardening Magazine booth, executive editor Scott Meyer was handing out soil-filled cups, into which kids were invited to press organic, heirloom tomato and watermelon seeds. “The most remarkable question I heard,” Meyer says, ‘and I heard it all weekend from both kids and parents, was `will a whole tomato plant really grow from one of those tiny seeds?’ It was such a revealing commentary on how separated most people have become from the source of their food.

“Kids who are involved in growing and cooking vegetables are much more likely to eat them than kids who simply find them on their dinner plate,” he adds.

The zone that drew the biggest crowds by far was the “serpentarium” auditorium, which had been converted into a professional demo kitchen, complete with large overhead mirror and stadium-style seating. It was here that seven top chefs—including Rachael Ray and Jamie Oliver--demonstrated easy, nutritious and delicious dishes. A troupe known as the Organ Wise Guys opened the show, getting everyone to their feet with a rousing cheer of “Low Fat! High Fiber! Lots of Water! Exercise!”

With help from a child in the audience, Rachael Ray whipped up a banana sushi snack, then introduced Jamie Oliver, who brought other kids up from the audience to help him cook pasta. The amphitheater was packed—standing room only—and after the demos, kids flooded the kitchen area to meet the chefs and get autographs. “These kids respond to chefs, particularly Food Network chefs, the same way that I responded to rock stars and football greats,” says Schrager. “They really are the rock stars of today.”

Next up was Allen Susser, chef/owner of Chef Allen’s in Aventura (North Miami Beach), who performed his demo with help from his daughter Liza, 11. Together they prepared four dishes: mango quesadillas, Caribbean ratatouille, garlic chicken with onion and pineapple and wild Florida shrimp with fennel/orange slaw and pistachios. Susser has always been an advocate not only of seasonality but also of growing your own food as well as using what may already be thriving in your backyard.  While preparing each dish he talked about its various ingredients: where they come from, how they’re used, what they taste like, how to tell when they’re at their peak.

“Mangos are like people,” he said, explaining that they come in many varieties and that green does not always mean unripe. “You can’t judge them by the color of the skin.”

 “If you love pineapple,” he suggested, “save the top of one and plant it. Next year you’ll have another one.”

“Fennel has this great licorice flavor,” he added. “It’s like vegetable candy.”

Susser, who has presented scores of demos for both kids and families, says he was surprised and delighted by the turnout at Jungle Island. "Four hundred screaming kids and their parents is not something I usually look forward to, but this time they were screaming for me,” he says with a laugh. “What a great feeling! These kids really wanted to hear about food and cooking…and I think Food Network should get lots of credit for that. They’ve really drawn kids in. And now they’re demonstrating that healthy eating can be fun and delicious.”

Other chefs who led demos were Art Smith, Ellie Krieger, Robin Miller and Tyler Florence.

By all accounts, Fun & Fit was a great success which will gain momentum as time goes on. Festival organizers say that it will indeed become a regular event, with a place on the annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival schedule along with other popular kid-friendly events such as Kidz Kitchen. According to Shapiro: “We surpassed our expected attendance, our sponsors and exhibitors were thrilled, the celebrity chefs had a blast and guests left with tons of giveaways and hopefully a new outlook on healthy eating and fitness. Fun & Fit was a tremendous success and we’ll do it bigger and better next year.”

Alexis Kesselman, 11, says she loved the day and definitely plans to attend next year. “I thought it was interesting because of all the different kinds of events,” she reports. “I planted organic seeds in a newspaper cup and then planted it in my organic garden. I can’t wait to see it grow. And, I got a lot of exercise walking around. I loved that you could see all the animals at Jungle Island…and it was neat seeing the animals exercise. I think, as they swing through the air, they may inspire some people to try to get fit as well.” Alexis, by the way, says she loves to cook and “experiments with new recipes all the time.”

Allen Susser, for his part, says he’d like to see the event grow to include more chefs, food stations, interactive educational presenters and more emphasis on physical activity. “And I’d love to be a part of it” he adds, “because I know how important this message is for all kids today.”

 “Someone on our team actually saw a little girl eating a piece of raw broccoli like it was an ice cream cone,” Shapiro adds. “That says it, doesn’t it?”

For more info: www.funandfitasafamily.com or www.sobewineandfoodfest.com