Moms and children strode in fashionable attire on a pink and white striped runway last Friday to raise funds for the Sacramento Children’s Museum.

A couple hundred people gathered at 33rd St. Bistro in Midtown to support the fundraiser for the museum that begins demolition today. Ten dollar tickets benefited the museum directly.

Sponsors Koukla Kids Boutique, M.E. Boutique, Firefly Salon and Boutique and 33rd St. Bistro began planning the event only three weeks ago. Kathryn O’Connell, co-owner of Koukla Kids, said they saw a need for a fundraiser to benefit a place that could be fun, safe and educational for children of the Sacramento area.

“All the other major metropolitan cities have a children’s museum, and we don’t. That’s,” she said. “what drove us to do an event.”

O’Connell said the turnout for the fashion show was far beyond what they expected.

“We oversold the event,” she said. “People were eager to participate. I think they saw the need for something so valuable for Sacramento.”

Moms and kids modeled clothing from the boutiques, starting their runway walk in the M.E. Boutique located next door to 33rd St Bistro. After strutting outside on a multicolored chalk-drawn floral runway, they ended their loop inside the bistro.

Ten mom models and their children participated, all chosen by the sponsors. All clothing modeled was available for purchase, with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the museum.

Alan Godlove, president of the board of directors for the children’s museum, served as emcee for the event. He announced raffle ticket winners, which were available for purchase at $1 per ticket.

He said the museum, which is expected to open in March 2011, will focus on children from ages 0 to 8.

“There are a lot of many wonderful museums in Sacramento, but the focus on that age group hasn’t existed in awhile,” Godlove said. “It gives young children a way to learn in an environment that parents can feel comfortable in.”

Godlove, who has young children himself, said parents can feel safe letting their young kids roam around the museum.

Natalie Truman, who handles fundraising development for the museum, said the Sacramento community will have the option of becoming a founding family. The family’s name will be memorialized in a tribute displayed in the museum.

“The founding families campaign is $500 or more and donor recognition on the wall to the first 500 families, with all proceeds going directly to construction,” she said.

The idea for the museum began six years ago when two school teachers got together after visiting a children’s museum in another city. Founding partners, The city of Rancho Cordova, the Junior League of Sacramento and Roebbelen Contracting, Inc. helped bring the project to a reality.

For more information on the Sacramento Children’s Museum, visit sackids.org.