TULALIP – Parents usually like back to school, while their kids often don’t.

The Tulalip Tribes have figured out a way to get kids to look forward to school, too. Well, maybe not school so much, but at least the Back to School Bash.

The tribes put on the bash Wednesday at the Don Hatch Youth Center.

Part of the event each year is giving out backpacks filled with school supplies. Event organizer Jessica Bustad said 1,236 backpacks were given away in less than an hour. Someone ended up driving to Tukwila to pick up another 400 backpacks.

“There’s some cute ones,” Bustad told one young girl who didn’t want one of the few plain ones that were left.

There are 1,582 tribal children that attend various schools in the Marysville district. The tribes’ Youth Services Education Team puts on the event. Essential Earth Organic Salon in Quil Ceda Village gave away free haircuts. There was also a free lunch. Outside there was face painting, tattoos, balloon animals and rides like swings, bouncy houses, a climbing wall, a dunk tank and more.

Family Haven had one of the vendor booths. Sasha Smith said she coordinates one of their programs, called Family Voices, which helps with goal setting. Representatives from the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy also were there.

They pointed out their birth to age 3 students do not have to be tribal members. The academy, in just two years, already has 280 students, but also 100 employees.