There was a break in the rainy weather just in time for Clearview’s first Forest Family Fun Night of the school year Thursday evening. Sponsored by the Clearview Forest Committee and the PTA, the event was held for families to have fun together and celebrate and explore all the latest work that’s been done on the cleanup and restoration of Clearview Forest.

The event also brought out the largest number of attendees to one of the school’s forest events yet, with students and their families milling about everywhere at the entrance to and throughout the forest’s trails.

There were lots of activities for families to choose from, including geocaching, hiking and decorating wooden boxes with initials and cedar circles from the forest. Boy Scout Danny Perrault was on hand to help teach attendees orienteering as part of his Eagle Scout project.

The most popular activity by far was ‘Park Escape’ with HIKEhoppers. An innovative twist on Escape Rooms, Park Escape sets up a storyline and challenges participants to decode puzzles, ciphers and riddles just like a traditional Escape Room, but the twist is that it’s all done using local county parks.

Forest Night attendees of all ages had a great time figuring out the escape room puzzles at four stations set up along the trails in Clearview Forest, working together to solve the clues so they could move on to the next challenge.

Lily’s Wings food truck was on location for anyone who was hungry after their forest adventures to grab a bite to eat.

On hand during the event was Jayne Greeney, who was there to explain and answer questions about District 742’s AVID (advancement via individual determination) initiative. AVID is a national program designed to help get kids ready for and involved in their futures. The program is used in third through twelfth grades throughout the district.