"August in Action," a Minot Area Team Wellness event geared toward making physical activity fun, kicked off its fourth year last Tuesday with a soccer golf game and a scarf game. "August in Action" will take place every Tuesday this month at the Oak Park Shelter No. 7 by the Farmer's Market in Minot, from 9:30 until 10:30 a.m. The events are free and open to the public.
"The purpose of the event is to get the whole family out to enjoy the outdoors, and to enjoy physical activity together," said Diane Thorne, public health nutritionist at First District Health Unit and member of Team Wellness. "It's all about families, and it's all about fun."
Nikki Lindgren, physical education teacher for Minot High School-Central Campus who is supervising the August in Action activities, agreed.
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Katina Tengesdal/MDN - - Rylie Oen, left, prepares to catch a scarf thrown by her grandma, Sandy Foell.
"So many kids today just don't get activity, and it's good to see them outside and playing and doing something," Lindgren said.
The "August in Action" events have been attended by people of all ages.
"I took a day off to bring my granddaughter here, to just get some exercise and have fun. And grandma needs exercise, too," Sandy Foell, a participant, said.
"This is just a nice atmosphere to get exercise in," said Linda Syria, another participant. "We come, because we want to act like a kid."
Last week's activity, soccer golf, challenged participants to kick a soccer ball to a goal in the fewest number of "hits," or kicks. The soccer golf game was followed by a scarf game where participants tried to catch scarves in various ways.
Team Wellness members decide what activities to include on the basis of popular opinion.
"We have different activities every year, that are becoming more and more family oriented. We've asked people what they want, to decide what we should include. We've had some repeat customers, and some new. We're seeing more children showing up, which is great," Thorne said.
So far, the scavenger hunt has been the only repeated activity each year, with new rule twists each time. The scavenger hunt is a popular activity with participants.
At the end of the activities, participants all received a sun visor for their participation. A drawing for a youth and adult door prize was held, and prizes were physical activity equipment. At each upcoming August in Action event, door prizes and sun visors will be given out.