The Lake Ridge Community Church first rocket derby brought families together for the afternoon spent launching rockets into the sky on Sept. 19.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, the Lake Ridge Community Church did not host the annual Soap Box Derby but were inspired to create a different event where families could easily follow COVID-19 rules.
“Usually, it’s around this time of year that we have our big Soap Box Derby, then we got thinking about COVID-19, we realized we can’t be doing that right now,” said Lake Ridge Community Church Pastor, Dr. Preston Pouteaux.
The ultimate goal of the Lake Ridge Rocket Derby was to bring friends and families together.
“We love our community, and we love Chestermere and we think COVID-19 is the least fun thing we can do, so we wanted to do something really fun together,” Pouteaux said.
“We value community, we value being together, we value families and kids and we just thought what a fun thing for us to do,” he said.
With over 30 Rocket Derby participants, Lake Ridge Community Church Ministry Support Leader, Tara Linsley believes the event was a success, and could possibly turn into an annual event.
“It was so fun to see the kids so excited about their rockets and excited to see it happening. It was a total success, it was exactly what we wanted to do, to have a fun day that was still safe for people to enjoy and experience in our city,” Linsley said.
“From the way people were reacting to it, and how many kids signed up, I believe it’s something worth doing,” she said.
Without the volunteers, the City of Chestermere, and the understanding from nearby residents who risked having a rocket land on their roof, the event wouldn’t have been possible.
“We wanted to thank the city for letting us be here, we don’t have a rocket derby very often so thank you to them, and all the residents and volunteers,” Pouteaux said.
