An early summer cornhole tournament has inspired a local café to tap into the fun, family-friendly competition of backyard games by organizing the inaugural Moon Olympics.
The Moon Café & Craft Beer is inviting teams of two to compete in their August event, which will include a variety of games including, Cornhole, Washer Toss, Ladder Ball, Hula Hoop Toss, Bocce Ball, Yard Jenga and Yard Pong. Up to 20 teams can sign up.
Moon Café & Craft Beer co-owner Adam Kurello said the cornhole tournament in June set the tone for the upcoming event, which will also have a beach regatta feel with food trucks, live music, and extra games for those not competing.
“All the games we chose are easily played games at home, where teams can gather some of their friends and practise leading up to the Olympics," said Kurello. "Washer toss is a take on horseshoes — tossing large washers at a target; ladder ball is tossing two golf balls on strings at a target looking like a three-rung ladder. Jenga will be played with giant Jenga blocks. Yard pong is an oversized take on beer pong where players try to eliminate the opponents' buckets by throwing a soccer ball into each one."
Teams will be contacted before the weekend with a schedule of the events.
“Each event will be done playoff bracket-style,” Kurello said. “Each game will be a head-to-head match with the winner moving on to the next round. Each event will have a local sponsor and will have a prize along with the overall prize.”
A trophy and bragging rights are up for grabs, which will prove to be valuable year-round, as Kurello hopes to make the Moon Olympics an annual event.
Community spirit and friendly competition aren’t the only things that are growing at the Moon Café & Craft Beer, as a blooming community garden now neighbours the café.
“We built the 30 gardens on May 15 — Innisfil's Pitch-In Day. We had a huge help from our community — making the room and building the gardens. It took about two weeks from there to fill and plant all the gardens,” Kurello said.
Lettuce and kale can be picked now and tomatoes will be ready to eat soon. They will have peppers, jalapeños, habaneros, beans, zucchini, and cucumbers shortly, with more to come.
“Seeing the local community fridges constantly empty was a huge push for us to do what we could to give to those that are struggling in our town. Having food on the table should not be a luxury — it should be something everyone is capable of doing and not worrying about,” Kurello said.
“We encourage people to come daily. There is no monitoring of the garden. It is meant for those that are in need of some extra food for the table to come and grab whatever they need.”
When asked if he and his wife and co-owner, Jessica, have always been avid gardeners, Adam explained that “prior to the community garden, we have only ever done small household gardens. This has been a huge learning experience but it has been so much fun getting them going!”
"When we envisioned what the Moon Café would be, we wanted to make sure that everyone felt welcomed and comfortable. We wanted to create a space for the community, so adding the gardens only made sense," Jessica Kurello said.
“Jessica is by far and away the one keeping this alive — she has devoted so much time to ensure that the gardens continue to grow. We have also recently received the help of some high school students volunteering to help ensure the gardens are watered,” Adam explained.
The inaugural Moon Olympics will run from August 26-27, registration is $30 per team.
To sign up for the Moon Olympics, inquire about sponsoring an event at the Moon Olympics, and learn more about volunteering at the Community Garden, contact Adam Kurello via email at [email protected]. Keep track of all of the events and offerings at the Moon Café & Craft Beer by following its Facebook page.
