Over 168 kids showed up to enjoy the great outdoors at Kicking Bear on Saturday, August 21. At the family adventure camp the kids enjoyed archery, tomahawks, sling shots, arts and crafts, a tough course and a water gun fight, water provided by the Iron Ridge Fire Department. They also got to learn about nature and history from some professionals that stopped by.
The event was a joint effort between the nonprofit organization Kicking Bear and the Horicon Marsh Archers and it was held at the Archers’ new facility. This marked the third year the event took place.
Kicking Bear was founded by Ray Howell and began 27 years ago. Ever since, they have been serving kids and getting them to spend time outside.
Krysta Howell, Ray’s wife, said, “We travel across the US and we find people that want to serve kids and serve their community and we partner with them.” The event is geared towards engagement with the outdoors and finding what you are good at.
“We are a Christian organization so our goal is to let every kid know that God has a plan for them,” Howell added.
The name Kicking Bear comes from when Ray Howell was hunting grizzly bears with a Native American tribe. He kicked a bear and hence the name was given to him.
However, the story begins much earlier, in Ray’s childhood. Howell explained, “A lot of kids don’t know about outdoor sports. My husband’s story is that he was bullied as a kid because he wasn’t the best basketball player, things like that. He ended up getting beat up so bad that he was in the hospital for three weeks.” Later he discovered that he was really good at archery and he loved it. He went on to be a world renown archer and did TV shows, commercials and worked with many outdoor companies.
The Horicon Marsh Archers wanted to help kids in the area learn about archery and have a fun day. At their new 70 acre facility and with 47 volunteers they made that happen this year. There were 11 Mayville High School volunteers, 22 club members and 14 non-club members volunteering. They also want to get the churches involved too. This year St. Stephen’s, St. John’s and Christian Life Fellowship were involved, but they are hoping to get more in the coming years.
All archery or other events are fully monitored and safe for the kids. Krysta said, “We’re very intentional with how we set things up so that nobody can get hurt. It’s very safe for the kids and they have a one-on-one instructor and then they’re taught how to shoot a bow.”
The donations collected will go to Kicking Bear and the event had 29 sponsors and donors.
To find out more information or see upcoming events either visit kickingbear.org or hmarchers.com.
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