Local Cub Scouts participate in annual Twilight Camp

David Cruz (left) and Blake Holman work with Clare Johnston of the Georgia Mountain Experiment Station on potting flowers.

A year of hard work paid off in a fun way for local Cub Scouts who participated in a week-long Cub Scout Twilight Camp.

Like previous years, the Twilight Camp was held at First United Methodist Church in Blairsville. The fun-filled evenings began with dinner in the Fellowship Hall, prepared and served by volunteer parents and friends.

Each evening there were special presentations from local businesses and members of the community. Steve and Norma from The Home Depot brought bughouses and instructed the Scouts on building them and using the proper tools. Clare Johnston from the Georgia Mountain Experiment Station discussed the 'Life of a Plant' and helped them each with repotting flowers in clay pots they decorated earlier in the week. Buster and Sandy Brown drove from Cleveland, Ga., to explain the interesting sport of falconry. The boys were introduced to "Rico," a Harris Hawk that hunts with Buster and Sandy. Buster explained how Rico and other hawks hunt, what they hunt for, and stressed the importance of understanding that they are hunting partners, not pets. The Scouts asked interesting questions and each had a chance to pet Rico.

Noah Frost looks unsure about having Rico sit atop his head.

Arts and Crafts time was spent making interesting items such as clay pots, walking sticks and rain sticks. The boys each had their own creations to take home at the end of the week.

Sporting events included soccer, baseball and ultimate frisbee. The most popular seemed to be the archery and BB gun ranges. After receiving specific safety rules and instructions, the boys shot BB guns at tin pie plates and arrows at foam targets.

Family Fun Night was Friday when all family members were invited for spaghetti dinner and a celebration filled with games and prizes. The evening began with a "hosedown" from a fire truck and ended with Jimmy the Clown making balloon animals for all of the kids.

The week-long Camp is an event held to celebrate the hard work the Cub Scouts did all year to earn their badges and achieve rank.

Left to right: Justin Cobb, Chris Hughes and Kohl Brown patiently wait to ask questions about Falconry.

Without generous donations of time, talent, money, supplies and equipment, this Camp would not have been possible. Thanks goes to the following people, businesses, and civic groups:

Appalachian Community Bank, Cadence Bank, United Community Bank, Bergeron & Maltby, CPAs, C & O Cabinets, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Save-A-Lot, BI-LO, Kiwanis Club, Masonic Lodges: Young Cane Lodge and Sweet Gum Lodge, The Home Depot, Union County Fire Department, Buster and Sandy Brown, Georgia Mountain Experiment Station, First United Methodist Church, Blairsville PTO.

Special thanks to the volunteers who worked all week to make Twilight Camp special for Union County's Cub Scouts.

Buster Brown demonstrates different tools used in hunting with hawks while his wife Sandy holds Rico.