RMCNews with Gabriela Vincent – Casper, Wyoming … Reflecting on the Winterfest program held by Casper Adventist Church on January 15, Gabriela, wife of Casper district lead pastor Shayne Vincent said, “Some of my favorite childhood memories were when my parents would take the kids to a winter or summer festivals in Romania. The excitement of the carnival rides and the delicious food were always happy family memories.” This inspiration helped guide Lyla McDonald, Casper Church home and school leader, in planning the Winterfest evening.
The church and Mountain Road Christian Academy advertised and invited the community to the free event. With a crew of hard-working volunteers to run the booths, the evening was filled with games, face painting, a gigantic maze, a photo booth, cotton candy, snow cones, arts and crafts, and more.
“Doing the photo booth and seeing happy little kids making funny faces was my favorite part about the Winterfest,” Cecelia Gage, Casper member, said.
Attendees could purchase concessions, helping with the profits which assisted MRCA. The wide range of foods included nachos, corn dogs, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, cookies, snow cones, and cotton candy, a delight to the appetite.
“My favorite thing about the Winter Wonderland was the food, especially the corn dogs,” Lacey Evert, Casper young adult member, commented.
When asked about his favorite food at the event, Weldon Treat said he enjoyed the onion rings. He also commented that he was blessed by fellowshipping with individuals he hadn’t seen in awhile.
The instructional booth on making cotton candy was one of the favorites among attendees.
“I loved learning how to make cotton candy! It was definitely a learning experience,” said Emily, Casper young adult member.
For others, the maze was the best part of the event. “I liked the maze the most because its pitch-black twists and turns (made from cardboard boxes) reminded me of the Alien movies,” Tim Pike, Casper young adult member, said.
Eight-year-old Olivia summed up the evening perfectly. “The whole festival was so much fun!”
For McDonald, seeing all the kids running around happy made the hard work of making the evening a reality rewarding enough. By the end of the evening, more than $600 had been raised to support Mountain Road Christian Academy.
The Casper Church would like to thank Lyla and Tom McDonald and the many volunteers for their hard work and for making it a safe and fun event for the Casper community.
–RMCNews with Gabriela Vincent; photos by Gabriela Vincent and Cecelia Gage
