Winter arrives in time for Project ASCENT carnival

Every year the local youth outdoors organization Project ASCENT holds a winter themed carnival for children and their families during the colder months of the year. Last Saturday, the event was held at the Thompson Falls Elementary campus. Youths that came to the event could participate in 12 games designed and built by the Project ASCENT team. Participants won tickets at each game, and the tickets were turned in for fun, educational fun prizes purchased by the organization. Participation was free to all, and each child that played through one complete round of all games earned a free drink and meal item.

Project ASCENT showed up with nearly 46 volunteers who committed over 250 hours to making the carnival go smoothly. According to Project ASCENT, the event hosted over 106 kids and their families throughout the day. According to Andrea Christensen, board member and secretary for Project ASCENT, even with the last-minute venue change due to muddy conditions and a change in weather conditions, the carnival had an impressive turnout. The event is a give back to the community that the organization said gives so much to them. The only thing families were charged for was optional merchandise and food, except for those free meals the kids earned by participating.

Project ASCENT has been planning the event, and working with sponsors for the last two months, and every game was sponsored by a local business, group or organization. At the end of the day, Reflections Academy and Building Bridges both sent several young and eager volunteers to help with take-down, which Christensen explained ended up "cutting our usual teardown time in half."

Project ASCENT is a non-profit organization started four years ago to give youth and their families the opportunity to explore the outdoors. The organization is run by eight board members, and is spearheaded by Rob Christensen, who has had the vision of such a program for the last nine years. The idea occurred to him when he started running after school programs in a few schools across the state.

More information about Project ASCENT and their summer camps can be found on their website, projectascent.org, or through their Facebook page.