2007 Princeton, MO Kicking Bear aka The Force Was with Us

The first annual "Force" Kicking Bear was held in Princeton, MO on May 25th and 26th. Laden Force headed up this first Missouri Kicking Bear event, aided by Tyson Stark and several members of a local archery club. It was Memorial weekend and what a great area for an event.

On Friday night there was lots of fun and games for the kids to do and like always, Tammy was there with her megaphone getting the kids wound up with all the fun and games such as gunny sack races, rope pulls, kick ball, and dodge ball. The games went well into the night. The only trouble with things was that Mother Nature was not cooperating, but that didn't hamper any of the fun and games. One minute the sun would be shining and the next minute the rain would be coming down in sheets! We were soaking wet and it was hard to get the bonfire lit. I believe there was more than one can of lighter fluid used to get it going. Then, all of a sudden, some character started throwing marshmallows! There we were. Running around soaking wet and involved in a marshmallow fight! Anyone reading this might think that it is the stupidest thing they ever heard, but I can tell you that there is no rhyme or reason to having fun like that! What a blast!

All the food we had tasted especially good as we were drying out. As a matter of fact, when I hit the sack that night I don't even remember closing my eyes.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of rain hitting my tent. I'll have to admit, I didn't want to get out of bed. I rolled over and listened to the rain and fell back asleep for awhile. I was awoken a little later by the familiar sounds of Kicking Bear kids having fun and getting ready for breakfast. Shortly after breakfast, we opened the camp with a prayer and then got right into the safety meeting. The rain held off just long enough to get everyone paired up into groups with their mentors and then the clouds opened up and it poured again! It rained so hard you could see the vapor trails coming off the arrows when they were released but it didn't dampen the kids' spirits nor did they stop flinging arrows. Even with all the sound of the rain hitting the trees, you could still hear the kids hooting and hollering as their arrows found their mark.

As we returned from the course for lunch under a dry shelter house, Patty had made her own special cakes for dessert. The cakes were going so fast that I was lucky to have not gotten wounded when I was reaching in for a piece. What an incredible day to have that much rain, being soaking wet, and having that much fun! We never lost a kid. Everyone toughed it out and had a blast!

I had the opportunity to talk to the crowd and let them know why we were really there. There were several kids who were brought there along with their families, or with uncles/aunts, or grandparents, or with mentors who just cared about them.

Kicking Bear focuses on getting all kids into the outdoors but its main focus is on kids who would never have had the chance and that is just exactly what happened that weekend. Those kids not only got to have an incredible experience at this Missouri Kicking Bear event, they also got paired up with mentors and they will be taken on their first group hunt this fall during the special Missouri youth season.