It was messy, gooey but loads of fun.
The Pudding Drop was one of a dozen fun games offered to kids at the Innisfail Alliance Church's annual carnival for children. They even got a chance to wash off all the pudding at the dunk tank, which provided more thrills and loads of laughter.
The carnival is the church's entertaining way to kick off its Kids Club/Club 56 season, programs offered to children of all faiths across the community.
This year's carnival was a 90-minute evening celebration on Sept. 25. Organizers counted 136 kids from grades 1 to 6 who attended.
“There seems like a bit more than usual but usually it is over 100 kids,” said Pastor Dave Wiebe, noting the carnival and its programs have been running for 16 years. “It is to start off with a bang and draw kids in because we would love them to learn about Jesus. It is also a gift of love to our community.”
Wiebe said the two programs, one called Kids Club for children in grades 1 to 4 and Club 56 for kids in grades 5 and 6, run once a week on Thursday evenings from September to April. The two clubs are held in different church areas but both feature games, singing, Bible teaching, snacks and crafts. There is a $25 registration fee for each child, and it's “wide open for community kids”, said Wiebe.
“You will see lots of friends of kids that have shown up here tonight,” he said.
The setup for carnival night offered plenty of imaginative choices for children to amuse themselves, like the Pudding Drop and a game called Fishing for Lemurs. And of course there were traditional ones as well, such as a Bounce House for younger children.
Putting the carnival together for the kids takes a lot of work and dedication, said Wiebe. However, he said the church has a core group of committed volunteers for the task.
“We have a great team of volunteers at our church who step up for carnival to serve and love kids,” he said. “Some of it you just know what to do because we have done it for so long. You dream up new games as well. Some of it is pretty easy in that we know what the plan is.”
For more information on the kids' seasonal programs call Wiebe at the Innisfail Alliance Church at 403-227-6655.
