There is yet another super fun event coming up this weekend where kids can come out and thanks to KOFA, the Christian Outdoor Fellowship of America Colorado chapter, they can learn how to shoot a baby gun, learn a little bit about gun safety, have some fun, and maybe win a free ham. And joining me now to talk about it, I've got Mike Brooks and Leslie Allen from KOFA. Mike, you're in beautiful north Fort Myers right now? Is that what you sent me this morning?
I am it's raining, but yesterday eighty four degrees, today seventy nine and tomorrow eighty five. Well in beautiful here, enjoy yourself.
It is beautiful in the winter, but I cannot vouch for it in the same way in the summer, when it is like living on the side anyway, Leslie Allen also with us here. Guys, Mike, I'm gonna let you handle this. What is going on this weekend?
Well, we got our ham shoot. This is kind of like off of our kids Turkey shoot in November for Thanksgiving, but this is the as a vista coming around. Kids will have an opportunity to not only win prizes, you know, like a ham, bacon and brats, but they're going to learn how to shoot baby guns. There's going to be gun safety. It's going to be a wonderful event for children and the families. We have had so many people signing up. I'm sure Leslie will give you the numbers.
But we are exploding. We are just going to blow it up building out on next set or this Saturday. Actually, it looks.
Like you guys have picked up quite an important sponsor with Shields. How did that come about?
Well, Shields came to us and said, hey, what do you have as far as an event for kids? And we both came together as thinking of a am shoot and they love the idea. What's cool And I think most people that are active shooters or hunters an ant. They have a big ammunition ammunition sale going on this weekend as well, so if you want to go down and let your kids shoot and go with the m O and it's a great store. We love it and they've been very supportive of kophas kids events.
And this is actually happening at the Shields in Johnstown right correct.
And last year we blew it out and this year we're going to really blow it out even more so. You know, Mandy, one of the things I'm trying out. Parents are so thankful that we are getting their kids off the electronics, just even for a few hours, and they get their experience just shooting and trying to win prizes, but they're communicating and get involved with other kids. So
this is kind of what our goal is. Make sure these kids have a great opportunity to experience too and be begun, but also just hanging around their peers and just enjoying themselves. And the parents love seeing their kids have fun.
Now, Leslie, you've been involved with these events in the past. What kind of a participation did you guys have last year and what are you shooting for this year?
Well, it was great last year. We had four hundred and sixty five what a yeah, and we had about three hundred parents, and so this year we really think we're going to be over a thousand, and we're just thrilled about that.
So do people need I see I've got your website up and I put a link on the on my blog today to your website. Do kids have to register in advance or can they just show up?
They can just show up. It's from nine thirty to three this Saturday, and again it's it's it shields up in Johnstown four seven five five Ronald Reagan Boulevard. It's really easy just up north on I twenty five and you check a ride on thirty four and it's right there. You can't miss it.
It's massive.
That story is ginormous. So yeah, it'd be hard to miss. Now, is this going to take place outside, because I don't know where in the store they would do this.
Mike, Yes, it's in that. They have a big training room upstairs, so it's just massive, and so we're able to cording off one section for the training, the classroom training, and then the other section is for the range area. So yeah, it's it's it's got great.
So, Mike, just to be clear for the angry animal activists that might be listening right now, how many actual pigs are going to be shot at this event?
Well, paper target pigs quite a few, but as far as actual critters zero. So I think they can stay home and not protest knowing that pigs are going to be safe. And I just wanted to add though, we do have handicap accessory throughs elevators and we can get them up there. We had quite a few kids that were handicapped last here that got on the elevator and got to participate.
So oh, I love that. I love that so much. This is such a great opportunity if you, as a parent, did not grow up shooting guns, but you want your kids to have an idea about gun safety, this is the best way to give them the basics, help them understand that even a baby gun needs to be treated with respect, and it really is a great way to kind of lay the foundation for that safety around firearms
that goes well beyond baby guns. All right, guys, I put a link on the blog today to the event, and I know it's going to be another humdinger, and I can't wait to hear about how successful this one is. And somebody is going to win some prizes like a honey baked ham, right.
Prizes, right bacon rops hands. If you like eating, this is a kind of competition you're going to enjoy. Well.
What I like is that, growing up the daughter of a hunter, I often ate these things, but they often still had like bird shot and stuff in them. So these are all free of any kind of shot, so you don't even have to worry about that. Mike Brooks and Leslie Allen. Thanks for your time today. Guys, go back to your your days and I hope you have a great event on Saturday. I have a good one. That is the great folks from COOFA. They do an outstanding, outstanding job.