On Sunday, September 25, Bergen County’s Shomer Shabbat Cub Scout Pack 613 celebrated their First Annual Family Fun Day at Camp Alpine. The event was created as an exciting introduction to Cub Scout fun. New and established families of Pack 613 took the opportunity to meet, mingle and partake of some classic Scout activities such as archery and nature walks. The First Annual Family Fun Day took place at the nearby Camp Alpine, a Boy Scout facility with beautifully tended grounds, complete with a full-sized fort and pirate ship on which the boys and their siblings enjoyed climbing.
The day’s activities included archery, tent building, making sukkah decorations and den meetings. The dens (divided by grade and age) worked on their requirements. The 5th grade Arrow of Light Scouts put up tents and discussed what to do when hiking and camping in inclement weather. The 4th grade Webelos practiced building a campfire and then experimented lighting the fire using different methods while the 2nd grade Wolf Den learned and practiced tying knots.
Gathering around the Webelos campfire after the den meetings, all the scouts began a Pack meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. The Scout Law states ‘A Scout is Clean,’ so the Pack Leader, Ari Farkas, discussed the Outdoor Code and explained how each scout needs to leave the outdoors the same way he found it so others may enjoy the immense beauty of nature. The boys were then called up by den to perform a song or skit for the rest of the Pack and their families and, as promised, all the Den Leaders led the children in singing the silly and highly entertaining ‘Popcorn Song.’ Finally, they closed the Pack meeting by kicking off thr annual popcorn sale, where scouts and their families ask people to help support Scouting in exchange for receiving some wonderful snacks.
After all that fun, s’mores were definitely in order. The scouts and their siblings were invited to roast their own marshmallows (under close adult supervision) and make s’mores before heading home. Parents agreed that the event was a success and are looking forward to the rest of this year’s scouting activities.
For more information about Shomer Shabbat Scouting in Bergen County, including the new Lion Den for boys in Kindergarten, please email [email protected].
