Redmond’s first annual Great Day of Play turned out to be a smashing success, as thousands of Redmond residents got to enjoy a myriad of activities at the City Hall campus last Friday, Aug. 19.

From a 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament to a 5K run, along with the high-flying trampoline acrobatic tricks from the Skyriders, the festival celebrated the importance of being active and having fun as part of a healthy lifestyle.

The event featured many local vendors and organizations such as the Eastside Drill Team, Jazzercise, and Zumba showing off their craft.

Highlighting the Day of Play was an appearance by Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani, who tied for the team lead in scoring in 2010 with 10 goals and led the Sounders to back-to-back U.S. Open cup titles in 2009-10.

He told an inspirational tale of his life story, describing how he overcame poverty in his war-torn home country of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), as well as a devastating injury in his youth, to achieve his lifelong goal of playing pro soccer.

“I really came to Redmond today to (tell) most of the children, and also the adults, that nothing is impossible,” Zakuani said. “I had to overcome poverty, an injury, doubts… but today I get to play in front of 36,000 fans, and live my dream.”

Zakuani, who last year founded a non-profit organization called Kingdom Hope which helps individuals achieve greatness in all areas of life through the platform of soccer, encouraged the youth in attendance to follow their dreams and surround themselves with positive thoughts, regardless of their career choice.

“I’ve never lost that enthusiasm… that passion (for soccer),” he said. “If you offered me any other career for no matter what amount of money, I’d turn it down. I found the thing I believe I was brought here on Earth to do.”

For more information on Zakuani’s organization, visit the website at kingdom-hope.org.