Scott Hogsed Day

"The Scott Hogsed Memorial Youth Conservation & Education Day began when some hunters, anglers and youth group leaders in far western North Carolina decided to try and get kids away from video games and television to show them the beauty and opportunities of the outdoors. They decided to hold the free annual event that would showcase a variety of activities, presented by experts, with an emphasis on fun and safety." -www.scotthogsedday.com

 This past Saturday our family drove out to Brasstown, NC and attended this fun, free event.  We didn't arrive until 8:30 am and missed some of the opening ceremonies, but we were right on time to get into a group and let the kids participate in the fun.  The event is well organized!  Each kid got an armband with a certain color, then were divided up into groups which they stayed with for each activity.  The emcee told all the kids to find their color flag, which was being held by a leader and be sure to stay with him.  Ever Joy took this job seriously.  If at any point during the day she wasn't with us, she could be found with the flag man.  The whole day was much more fun because we were put in a group with two other families we are good friends with.

The Cherokee County 4-H Club was there talking about farm safety, and the Boy Scouts were there with a fun setup that included a rock climbing wall and this rope bridge.  You can see in the picture that they  had tents set up for shade, which included free bottled water and snacks.

The kids got to fish, look at a Civil War display, learn to use a compass and shoot a couple different kinds of guns.

I probably wouldn't recommend taking a two year old, but Zoe managed to last until late into the afternoon.  As long as we kept moving and her daddy didn't get out of site she was fine.  Her favorite part was when we learned about bird dogs.  By the time our group arrived at this activity the dogs were too overheated to show us their stuff, but Zoe enjoyed loving on them.

Besides all the exhibits they served a free wild game lunch that included bear meat and frog legs.  At the end of the event they handed out an incredible amount of door prizes.  I couldn't believe how much stuff they gave away, including bikes, guns, and cash.  Each kid received a free backpack, t-shirt and Bible.  Our family came home dirty and tired, but we had a great day together.  For the rest of the weekend Sawyer has been carrying around a bow and talking about hunting wild animals.  Pav isn't a hunter so this is all new to him.  As long as he isn't hunting his sisters I'm fine with it.