By Crystal Wong:
There are a variety of ways for someone to enjoy Canada Day. For certain members of our Scout group, this took the form of hosting educational activities, and making many new friends; all under the glow of our bright red tents. With the aim of hosting a family-friendly event, our Rovers planned for a day that would focus on the skills, activities, and friendship that Scouts can offer to younger kids. For the Rovers, this was the perfect opportunity to share a bit of scouting experience with the kids, and to allow parents to get a glimpse of what joining a Scout group would be like.
Throughout the day, there were two Rover-led arts and crafts projects: a paper-plate sundial, and paper bag hand puppets of mascots from the Beaver Pond Map and Cub’s Jungle Map – both of which were massive crowd-pleasers, and attracted close to 300 people throughout the day. The paper bag hand puppets were accompanied by lovely stories about each mascot to help kids and their parents better understand the Beaver and Cub Scout programs. The sundials became an excellent way to introduce relevant outdoor adventure skills, and provided a blend of creativity and learning that is integral to the scouting experience.
But that’s not all. While the kids were busy learning, we had displays of our Crew’s badges alongside neckers from our international and domestic groups for passersby and parents to admire. Scouter Vivian, Scouter Sam, and Victor fielded questions from interested parents to intrigued pedestrians enjoying the downtown festivities.
Of course, just because there was a booth to man doesn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy the day; albeit with a Scout-themed twist. After being reinvigorated by a scouting game, the Rover Scouts still managed to find time to relax and enjoy the sunshine. Spontaneous games of frisbee broke out throughout the day when the opportunity for fun presented itself. During lunch hours, Rovers also explored a variety of booths in the north plaza, notably to try a little bit of parkour. Games of Jump In, Jump Out and campfire songs were also met with great enthusiasm from both kids and our Rovers alike.
To say that the booth run by the Rover Scouts was a success would be quite an understatement. The quote by Rover Scout Nick Pham: “It’s the fact that I can make kids smile together with my friends” is perfectly aligned with the atmosphere of our country’s sesquicentennial anniversary. Friendship, cooperation, and care – isn’t that as Canadian as it gets?
