On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Fun Stuff Thompson, a local event management organization run by Dennis Foley, hosted its second annual Kids' Cardboard Race. With sponsorship from the Thompson Labor Committee, the event was a huge success, with about 20 entries and lots of prizes for the participants.
"We want it to be where every person we wanted them to walk away with some sort of a prize," said Foley. "When we do events like these, that part is very important to us, that we want to encourage the creativity along with the sport! That’s why we get kids to make their own sled to race in."
The cardboard race is a unique event that involves building a sled out of cardboard and racing it down a hill against other competitors. The goal is to encourage creativity and innovation among kids while having fun. This year's entries did not disappoint.
"The builds were amazing, like the creativity is beyond me, and that’s what I want to encourage in kids!" exclaimed Foley. "We had one kid who made a toilet sled out of cardboard, and that was one of my favorite ones because it was so far outside of the box of what I was expecting to see. Then we had the tank and the Batmobile, and two kids built a house! You can tell that it’s so vast in the different levels of creativity. There were no two that were the same."
One of the participants, 10-year-old Daylen Weir, said that he had a blast building his sled with his friends. "We spent all week building the sled, and it was so much fun. I'm so glad that we got to race it today and win a prize!" she exclaimed.
Foley said that the goal for next year is to make the event even bigger and better. "I want to do it on a larger scale and get adults into it too," he said. "And I want to get some good prize money going. I think this event has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to see where it goes in the future."
Overall, the second annual Kids' Cardboard Race was a huge success, with lots of fun, creativity, and innovation on display. Fun Stuff Thompson and the Thompson Labor Committee should be commended for their efforts in organizing and sponsoring such a unique and enjoyable event for the community.
~Matthias J. Johnson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Thompson Citizen. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
