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WILKES-BARRE— On Saturday, Kirby Park transformed into King Arthur’s Court.

Approximately 200 members of Boy Scouts of America’s Two Mountains District visited the park to participate in its annual Winter Fun Day. This year, the event took on a medieval theme with activities like slingshot, javelin toss and joust located at different stations around the park.

For Two Mountains Vice Chair of Programming Carmen Ciampi, planning the event was a labor of love.

“I like the Middle Ages and that kind of atmosphere,” said Ciampi, 26. “I like to consider myself a nerd. I wanted to have it similar to medieval carnival games.”

A knightly take on ring toss saw Scouts attempt to wrap their rings around the bucket-like neck of a dragon. Webelos 2 Pack 123 member Rorey Purcell, 10, of Kingston, had a secret technique for dragon slaying.

“I just tossed it up higher so I didn’t hit (the bucket),” Purcell said.

Boy Scout Keegan Behrens, 13, was a volunteer at the ring-toss station. The Mountain Top Troop 434 member said it was important to remain active in the Scouting community so younger Scouts are encouraged to do the same.

“I feel like if you help out with the Cub Scouts and they get involved, you’re more prone to have more Boy Scouts join,” Behrens said. “Over the years, Boy Scouts’ and Scouts’ (numbers) have been declining and that’s sad because it’s fun and I feel like if you get them at young age they’ll stick with it for a long time.”

Some Webelos Scouts spent the morning building shelters and answering First Aid questions during the event’s emergency readiness competition. Pack 106 members Ben Hart and Jacob Badowski, both 10 and from White Haven, were joined by Carmen Pindol, 9, Mountain Top, in building the first support for the pack’s shelter. While his fellow pack members worked on readying two supports, Hart took a break to explain the shelter-building process.

“We’re trying to make a triangle and they’re trying to make a triangle. Then some of us are going to make a triangle again, then we’re going to lay a tarp,” said Hart.

Badowski cited one reason why their victory was assured.

“Because our pack is the best,” he said.

During the judging portion, shelters were graded based on the level of protection they provided from the elements. Two Mountains Sister Executive Rachael Stark, 23, said the winter elements — and their impact on outdoor activities — are what inspired Two Mountains Winter Fun Day.

“Everything kind of starts to shut down in the winter,” Stark said. “It’s very difficult to get outside and that’s really what the Scouting program is all about. Even though it’s cold, this is an opportunity for the kids to still have some fun outside and then go back to that routine of being indoors as much as possible.”

The Two Mountains District serves the majority of Luzerne and Wyoming counties.

Henry Weiskerger, 8, of Falls and Pack 366, draws a dragon on a plate in a medieval shield design exercise at Saturday’s Winter Fun Day for Scouts at Kirby Park.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_tl011318boyscouts-3-1-.jpg.optimal.jpgHenry Weiskerger, 8, of Falls and Pack 366, draws a dragon on a plate in a medieval shield design exercise at Saturday’s Winter Fun Day for Scouts at Kirby Park. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader

Rorey Purcell, 10, of Kingston, throws a hula hoop during a ring-toss game Saturday morning as part of the Winter Fun Games for Boy Scouts at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_ttl011318boyscouts-4.jpg.optimal.jpgRorey Purcell, 10, of Kingston, throws a hula hoop during a ring-toss game Saturday morning as part of the Winter Fun Games for Boy Scouts at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader

Robert Franckiewicz and Brendan Kane pull Daniel Torna, all 10 and from Wilkes-Barre, during an exercise where Scouts had to carry an injured person out of the woods at Winter Fun Day at Kirby Park. The boys belong to Pack 55.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_ttl011318boyscouts-2.jpg.optimal.jpgRobert Franckiewicz and Brendan Kane pull Daniel Torna, all 10 and from Wilkes-Barre, during an exercise where Scouts had to carry an injured person out of the woods at Winter Fun Day at Kirby Park. The boys belong to Pack 55. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader

Connor Hillard, 10, of Mountain Top and Pack 106, ties sticks together to help build a temporary shelter at Saturday’s Two Mountains District Winter Fun Day for Scouts at Kirby Park.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_ttl011318boyscouts-1.jpg.optimal.jpgConnor Hillard, 10, of Mountain Top and Pack 106, ties sticks together to help build a temporary shelter at Saturday’s Two Mountains District Winter Fun Day for Scouts at Kirby Park. Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader

By Gene Axton

For Times Leader