After a summer of mostly perfect weekends the Sterling Community Center drew one of the wettest this year for their first Sterling Community Center Fun Day and Carnival. But a little precipitation has never dampened the Alaskan spirit when it comes to having fun and celebrating community. The Sterling community had a lot to be thankful for after the Card Street fire this June and they wanted to show their appreciation with a carnival at their community center. “Many businesses and private residents and folks, some we had never met, stepped up to help and came to the aid of their fellow neighbors. One of the greatest things about living in Sterling and on the Kenai Peninsula is the willingness of people to go above and beyond the call by helping each other out,” said Rochelle Hanson, administrative assistant for the Sterling Community Center. “We had a pickle ball tournament in our gym, a Sterling Triathlon where competitors, kayaked or canoed, bicycled and ran and fun games all day long. The dunk tank was a big draw with KPBSD Supt. of Schools Sean Dusek getting dunked often by students who actually got wetter than he did,” laughed Rochelle.
Proceeds from the carnival went to the Community Center and to any organization or church that sponsored a booth according to Hanson, “One vendor came all the way from UAF in Fairbanks, they are doing a children research project and some folks came out from Ninilchik and Nikiski and of course Sterling to participate,” she said. For those who were interested in the way life was and conflicts were settle some 500 years ago during medieval times members of the Kenai Amtgard chapter, were out in the rain in rusty armor to fantasy role play with live action combat, “Think of paintball with swords,” commented Conner Christoffersen, a LARP member. “Amtgard combat is safe and our equipment is constructed of closed-cell foam covering a solid core. Every week we gather for a fun filled day with objective based on battle games and combat practice. Our Kenai Chapter meets every Sunday at 1:00pm at the S. Forest Park by the beach,” he said. On behalf of the community Hansen thanked everyone for coming out in the rain to celebrate those who helped out during the fire and invited everyone to check out the activities and availability of the Center throughout the year by going to www.sterlingcommunityclub.com.
