Annual Winterfest is Feb., 9

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Tell the kids to grab their mittens and ice skates!

The annual Bow Winterfest is on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Bow Recreation Department. Despite recent warmer temperatures, there is still enough snow on the ground to hold the event, regardless of weather. Co-sponsored by Bow Rotary and the Recreation Department, the event brings families together for a day of fun, games and celebration.

“I think my favorite part is the enthusiasm with the kids. It’s a real family event,” said Bill Gunn of the Bow Rotary Club. “We’re really focused on the kids and doing all of the different activities. It’s the excitement around the family doing something together.”

The classes will be grades 1 through 8, unless otherwise noted, with boys and girls competing separately. Winners for all events will be announced and ribbons awarded.

“We want to have something for everyone. If you have a family with a 3- or 4-year-old and an 11-year-old, there’s something for each. Everyone can shine a different way,” said Gunn.

The following is a list of scheduled events:

• 8 to 10 a.m. – Winterfest kicks off with an all-you-can-eat breakfast with pancakes, sausage, orange juice, hot chocolate and coffee. The cost is $3 for adults, $2 for children. “We’re prepared for about 150 people with a great breakfast,” said Gunn.

• 9 a.m. – Sliding races will be the first outdoor activity.

• 10 a.m. – Skating races commence for grades 1 through 6, with boys and girls racing separately.

• 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Poster contest commemorating Winterfest. Supplies will be available. The contest is open to all individuals, families and groups. Winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m.

• 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Make your own snow sculpture. Individuals, families and groups are invited to register and compete. Judging takes place at 1 p.m., with winners announced at 4 p.m.

• 11 a.m. – Indoor obstacle course for grades 1 through 8.

• 1 p.m. – Hockey Puck Shootout on the ice.

• 1 to 3 p.m. – Bow Pioneers Snowmobile Club will give rides on the town pond for a donation to Easter Seals.

• 2:30 p.m. – Wood hockey puck toss happens out on the ice. The Bow High School Interact Club will be selling tossing pucks for $1 each, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A prize will be awarded for the best toss.

• 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. – Indoor basketball foul-shooting contest. Classes will include grades 1 through 8, with boys and girls competing separately; plus ninth grade to adults.

• 5 p.m. – Bonfire will be ignited to cap off the day. A 50/50 raffle will be held throughout the day. All events are free of charge unless otherwise noted. For additional information and last-minute changes, visit www.bowrotary.org.

– Staff writer Matt Schooley contributed to this article.

Family takes in foster children

Bow Editor — Wed, 23 May 2007 20:40:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Though foster care families often get a bad rap from popular television shows and movies, Bow resident Deb Bradley said there are hundreds of thousands of foster care parents who care very deeply for the children who live in their homes.

She should know. She’s a foster parent.

“I think what happens is your drama shows – your “Law and Order,” your “Judging Amy,” those types of shows – unfortunately, I think what they do is sensationalize, like anything else in this world, things that go wrong in the system,” said Bradley. “But my feeling is that children are innocent, they can’t take care of themselves and they need champions and love and affection and a safe place to live.

“Often, these children, through no fault of their own, have the sins of their parent placed on them, and a lot of times people hear about what their parents have done and assume the child is automatically at fault too and that’s so not true.”

Last year, Bradley became a foster parent, and she recently welcomed her third foster child into her home.

Bradley said she’s been interested in foster care parenting since high school, when she met a fellow student who was adopted through a foster care program.

The family has had one foster child already come and go, and two toddlers are currently living with them.

Bradley and her family began going through classes last spring and she became licensed in July. Her first placement arrived in October.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but something we weren’t ready to do as a family until recently,” she said. “We thought it was important to wait until our kids were old enough to understand why children were coming and going and understand some of the issues that come up with children in care.”

But for at least one of Bradley’s two biological offspring, having young children around is still difficult, even though she said she understands the importance of the role her family is filling.

“It’s different because we used to be able to go here and there all the time, and now it’s different because you have to worry about, ‘can you do this with the baby’ and ‘can you do that with the baby’ and ‘can the baby sit long enough to do that?’” said Bradley’s daughter, Emily, who is 14 years old. “But most of the time, I can still pretty much do what I want, so it’s hard to explain because it’s really different in some ways and not in others.”

But for 17-year-old Matt Bradley, there hasn’t been much of a noticeable difference in lifestyle.

“For me it’s not that much of a change,” said Matt. “I kind of live in my den downstairs and I kind of have my own life.”

For Bradley’s husband, Ken, who spends much of his free time playing and coaching sports, foster parenting has been nothing but a blessing for his marriage.

“So much of what (Deb) does is child related. Since the day I met her, she’s worked child care as a job. So now, taking care of foster children is always something she’s been interested in, so it kind of helps fill her void,” he said. “It seems to make things flow a little easier now.

“It’s hard after having 13 years without a baby in the house and now we’re back to having two, so it’s a tremendous change, but in all honesty, I don’t think it’s hurt us in the least,” Ken continued. “If anything I think it’s strengthened how we feel about each other and how we look at each other as both husband and wife and mother and father.”

The next step for her family, said Bradley is adoption, something she hopes will become a reality in the near future.

“If we become attached and the opportunity presents itself, adoption is certainly not out of the question,” she said.

Foster families, said Bradley, are usually offered first opportunity to adopt.

Still, her husband said even those interested in short-term foster parenting are needed.

“What a lot of people think about is they worry about the long-term impact and all that’s involved and they don’t think about the immediate future,” said Ken. “Sometimes single parents just need a little help to get back on the feet and get their lives back together again and then they can take care of their children the way they are suppose to – the way they want to.”

May is National Foster Care Month, and Bradley said it’s a great opportunity to promote the cause.

“There is such a need for people that can provide stability and love to these kids and because of the confidentiality restrictions a lot of people just don’t hear about all the good that goes on,” she said.

Those interested in the various types of foster care programs in the greater Concord area may call the Division of Children, Youth and Families at 271-4451.

Bow News : family

Annual Winterfest is Feb., 9

Family takes in foster children