News Photo by Julie Riddle Excited children and their families join in on the onstage fun as the Imagination Movers band performs at Alpena’s Aplex Sunday.

ALPENA — A thousand jumping, arm-waving, grin-flashing children and their equally animated parents, grandparents, and favorite adults commandeered the Aplex ballroom Sunday as the high-energy, infectiously upbeat band Imagination Movers brought their unique, kid-friendly style to Alpena.

“We wanted to do something for the community here,” said Norm Sommerfeld, facility manager at the Aplex. Not all parents have the means to travel to such concerts, he said, so he booked the band in an effort to bring the music to the parents.

Inspired by his daughter, who he calls the group’s number-one fan, Sommerfeld worked with eager-to-help community members and businesses to add Alpena to the tour stop of the nationally-touring band of family-friendly entertainers from New Orleans.

Five-year-old Aubrey Keyes of Ossineke came to Sunday’s concert to see the fun foursome she’d watched on television’s Disney Channel. She gave a thumbs up to the band whose show, now in syndication, was a TV hit while filming live at venues around the country.

Imagination Movers, started in 2003 when four friends started meeting after their kids’ bedtimes to write songs, is unrelentingly positive, engaging kids in upbeat music focusing on issues relevant to youngsters, hitting on such topics as healthy snacks, playing catch, and conquering bedtime fears.

On her second bag of free cotton candy, Natalie Tomkins, 8, of Ossineke, was full of energy before the concert. Getting to see people on stage who were famous television celebrities was pretty cool, Natalie said.

Sommerfeld credits the community with making the event possible, with many groups willing to step up and provide funding for free admission, snacks, and drinks for the event.

The musical group was initially scheduled to give one performance Sunday. When 1,300 tickets were claimed in eight hours after a story about the event was published in The News, planners scrambled to secure a second performance later in the afternoon, allowing another 1,200 area residents to come enjoy the show.

Several parents in the audience, little cuties by their sides, expressed appreciation for the free family event.

Brian Gagnon of Alpena has watched the Imagination Movers program with his daughter, seven-year-old daughter Allison, who said she was ready to get up and dance.

“They solve problems, sing lots of music, jump around,” the dad said. When asked if her dad would be dancing along with her, Allison paused.

“Probably not,” she said.

The concert started with a blast of music as four performers in blue jumpsuits bounced onto the stage, quickly getting kids and adults alike dancing in their seats, raising their arms for a group high-five, and shouting at full-blast.

Alpena resident Katelyn Carr liked the idea of spending a fun afternoon with her daughters, Madelyn and Macy. The concert would be a good followup to their weekly Saturday night dance party, six-year-old Madelyn said as she angled to get a good seat to see the action on stage.

“I feel like we’ve never had anything like this in Alpena before,” said her mother, who was looking forward to the show even though she hadn’t heard of the band before. “We’re just excited to come check it out either way.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.