Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The Caribou Recreation and Wellness Center held their second Family Night on Jan. 31.
“We weren’t supposed to have another Family Night until next month, but Kathy received good reviews from the first family night and decided that we would do another one tonight,” said recreation programmer Billie Martin.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Natalie Bazinet
Gwen Crandall, 17 months, enjoyed playing with a Frisbee that was almost as big as she was during Family Night at the Caribou Recreation Center.
Though the last Family Night was a success, a few changes were made this time around, including the addition of a D.J. and dance space.
“The concept of Family Night is to get families coming out and enjoying activities together,” said Martin, “Parents can come with their children or grandchildren,” she added, “we just want them to have a good time together.”
Though the staff at the Recreation Center sets out games and equipment for participants to use, not everyone needs the boundaries of a conventional game.
“It’s neat to see the families being creative with each other,” said Martin, “some of the parents and children will make up games of their own using the equipment that we set out for them.”
“I think that in some instances, the parents enjoy Family Night as much if not more than the children do, because it’s an excuse for the parents to play and be silly,” said Kathleen Mazzuchelli, superintendent of the Caribou parks and recreation department.
Not only was the gym set up for dancing, four square, shooting hoops, and Frisbee, the game room was also open so that families could utilize the pool tables, ping pong tables, and a variety of board games.
“Families can come down to the game room and play with their kids,” said supervisor Danielle Landrey, “we set up all the games for them and then step back so that they can enjoy each others company. If they have a question, we’re here to help. We have a wider variety of games and activities here than most people have at home,” she added.
“Family Night was a huge success,” said Mazzuchelli, “last Family Night drew about 60 people, and we had about 80 people participate over the course of this Family Night; there were a lot of new faces that hadn’t been here before, which is great because it gives families that are new to the area a chance to meet other families,” she added.
The next Family Night, on March 14th, has a tropical twist and is open to the whole community.
We’re going to be holding a Beach Blast, because by the time March gets here, we’re sick of winter,” said Mazzuchelli, “We’re going to have Aroostook County palm trees, a D.J. shack, snack shacks, and all sorts of games and dancing. There will be a reasonable fee for the event, but it includes supper and a night of fun,” she added, “over a hundred people attended the last Beach Blast we threw.”
Additional information can be obtained by calling the Caribou Recreation and Wellness Center at 493-4224.
