The City of Troy will host its third annual Back to School bash Saturday on the Square just after students return to school.

“We’ve had a great turnout of kids from the community to come out and enjoy the first two back to school events,” said Leigh Anne Windham, who coordinates the event for the city.

The event features face painting, a magician, popcorn, snow cones, ice cream, game, T-Roy and Troy University cheerleaders, goodie bags and a child safety fingerprinting event sponsored by the Troy Police Department.

“We encourage everyone to come spend their day in downtown enjoying the back to school event, shopping at our awesome shops and boutiques and dining in our delicious restaurants,” Windham said.

Lauren Cole said her son Witt, 6, and daughter Chandler, 3, both enjoyed the event immensely last year.

“I think more than anything it’s just an opportunity for the community to come together to prepare the students as they go back to school,” Cole said. “It’s a way to support everyone in the community and the kids can feel that around them as they kick off their fall and school year.”

Det. Michael O’Hara of the Troy Police Department said the department’s child safety booth will give parents the tools they need to protect their children.

“We’ll be giving out safety booklets that gives tips and suggestions for parents to go over with their children and how to watch out for their safety and make their everyday lifestyle safer,” O’Hara said. “They can do fingerprinting in that booklet, which help identify a person. Nobody has the same set of fingerprints. It’s more of a safety measure we want to give to the parents. The booklet gets the parents more involved with the child. More interaction between the parents and child is the better route to take there for them to become more aware of their surroundings.”

The event will take place on the Square form 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.