YEC Zombie Ball 2009

The Youth Empowerment Council put on the Zombie Ball for Jr. High and High school students on Thursday October 29th. The concert was held at gigs in Mills. It was free to those who dared to dress like a zombie and $5 for all others. The bands that played were 10th and Main and Nasty Nate Band. Members of the YEC participated in decorating and other duties for the event. Free food was provided by the YEC and there was also a hot dog and hamburger eating contest during the intermission. This was YEC Coordinator Shane Rager’s last event with the kids which made it very memorable. There was more than 50 in attendance which made for a fun evening with zombies dancing to great music.

The Youth Empowerment Council recently held its annual Water fight at the Park. The event was successful and all involved had a great time. The water fight began at 5:00 pm on August 12th. The event consisted of a giant slip and slide, as well as water balloons and squirt guns. JC burger catered the event and provided hotdogs, cotton candy, and ice cream for those that attended the event. There was also a DJ who provided music for those that were in attendance. There were many youth who were playing on a giant slip and slide. This is where a large majority of youth spent most of their time during the length of the event

Those that attended also enjoyed hotdogs and treats provided by JC Burger. Participants played and ate food until about 8:30.

4 days and counting!!!!

The Kite Festival is getting closer each day and Mercer House is very excited!
Like every event, we have had a couple last minute changes but we are riding through them all with ease. JC Burger will now be at Mike Sedar Park instead of the Murane Playing Fields. This is a great change because our food vendor will be closer to the Fun Fly Field! The Casper Balloon Roundup are now offering tethered balloon rides on Saturday Morning. For more infomation on those available times click on their link to the right.
Our Event T-shirts are all done and we owe a HUGE thanks to Terry and Eric at Bush-Wells Sporting Goods. They did an amazing job and provided an even greater donation! Thanks so much!
Have Kite Will Fly will be at the Mike Sedar Park along the Fun Fly Field and they will be selling kites, rubberband guns, and other fun toys!
We hope to see you guys there!
If you would like to volunteer for the Kite Festival please call Laura Grogan at 307-265-7366.
Thank you.

Get educated at The 1st Annual Mercer House Kite Festival!

We have TWO weeks left until the big event! We are excited to announce that we have lined up some educational booths for our Kite Festival. Rocky Mountain Power will have a booth at our event and they will be discussing different types of power and wind energy. SunPower Energy will have a booth and also be discussing the mutliple types of energy in the state of Wyoming. Casper College will have a booth and be discussing their Renewable Energy Program at Casper College. AND don't miss spiderman who will be making appearances teaching and explaining kite safety!

We are still looking for volunteers to staff the Fite Festival. If you are interested in helping please contact Laura Grogan at Mercer House 307-265-7366. Tons of thanks!


Hope you are all getting as excited as we are!

New Sponsors!

We are less than a month away from the big show and things are definitly getting exiting! Mercer House has developed some new relationships and found more sponsors to help us provide the Mercer House Kite Festival on July 25th! Thank you so much to all of you that have helped us create and provide this great event!

Agent Cheryl Feraud

Alpha Development Corporation

Family Package Raffle Tickets go on sale TODAY!!

Mercer House and some truly great sponsors have helped us put together an amazing Family Package Raffle. We have a 3 day camp/golf package at the beautiful Three Ruts Golf Course in Guernsey, WY, a 1 Year Family Membership to the Casper Family YMCA, a North Face Family Tent, a $50 Cabela's Gift Card, a $50 Bass Pro Shop Gift Card, BOKA Photography Outdoor Family Session with 25% off on prints, and a Fishing Pack including 2 poles, tackle box, bait, and a cooler. We are not finished yet! There are also 4 camping chairs, 25 Miniature golf games at Old Town, 2 family passes to the NIC, $100 Gift Card for the Game Doctor, AND a Papa John's Family Pizza Package!
This package has a whopping total value of $1,725.00!
We are selling tickets starting today and selling through the Mercer House Kite Festival on Saturday, July 25th. We will draw a lucky winner on Monday, July 27th.
Tickets are $20 for one ticket and $30 for two tickets.
You may purchase tickets at Mercer House any week day or from a Mercer House employee. You can also catch us at NIC Fest this weekend, June 26th and 27th and The Bear Trap Festival on July 18th and 19th!! And of course, remember to come see us at the 2009 Mercer House Kite Festival on July 25th!

We owe a huge thanks to our wonderful raffle sponsors: Town of Guernsey, Casper Family YMCA, Mountain Sports, BOKA Photography, Rocky Mountain Discount Sports, Target, Old Town, the NIC, Natrona County Prevention Coalition, and Papa John's Pizza!

A Huge Thank You

Mercer House and the Fundraising Committee would like to recognize and thank all of our existing sponsors. Thank you so much for your commitment and donations.
JC Burger
Bush-Wells Sporting Goods
Hutch’s High Country
Town of Guernsey- Three Ruts Golf Course
Western Sign and Design
Casper Family YMCA
Ken and Kathy Eickhoff Family
Boka Photography
Wyoming Arts Council
City of Casper
Craig Silva Attorney at Law
Casper Balloon Roundup
Frank Cowan - Casper Kite Club
TIC

If you would like information on Sponsoring, Attending or Volunteering for our Event please contact Laura Grogan at 307-233-4283.

JC Burger at the Kite Festival!

Thank you so much to JC Burger for agreeing to serve food and beverages at the 2009 Mercer House Kite Festival! JC Burger will be the exclusive food vendor at the event. JC Burger will be serving all their regular items such as burgers, hotdogs, icecream, and soda. Thank you again JC Burger! We can't wait to see you all there!!

Laughing Bird in Concert!

We have great news for our Kite Festival on July 25th! Laughing Bird has agreed to perform at our event!
Tupe and Janey Wing Kenyon have performed and recorded together since 1978. They have traveled from Alaska to Guatemala, and from California to Carolina to Europe, performing at fairs, festivals, universities, resorts, cruise ships and community concerts.
Laughing Bird's show is a lively mix of original contemporary folk music with overtones of country, bluegrass, and light acoustic rock. At their performance, you will hear original songs that will "wow" you, songs of the heart, and songs that will make you laugh.
Laughing Bird's songs are carefully crafted to include compelling lyrics accompanied by accomplished acoustic musicianship. Tupe plays acoustic guitar and harmonica. Janey plays mountain dulcimer, bass guitar and various percussion instruments. Tupe and Janey both obviously enjoy singing, and most of their songs feature tight harmony arrangements. Their show is spirited with surprises such as off-the-wall comedy, a nine-inch dancing clog doll, and even a little yodeling.
Tupe and Janey have recorded ten albums through the years and a concert DVD featuring their original songs. Original, refreshing, and entertaining is a good description of Laughing Bird's show, but their real magic is warm, genuine, and unpretentious energy the project from the stage. Tupe and Janey clearly love what they do, and it shows!
Join us at the 2009 Mercer House Fite Festival on July 25th and enjoy the tunes of Laughing Bird!

The Kite Festival has a professional!

Hello All

We have great news! Mercer House has finally recruited a professional "kiter" to perform at the 2009 Mercer House Kite Festival. Kelly "Sky" Reed and his wife are making multiple presentations throughout the festival. Sky will be flying an 8 Stack Power Kite. Each kite has a 10' wingspan and the total stack can pull 500 pounds and more . Our Wyoming wind may pull him across town!

Sky will also perform with Duel Line Sport Kites. These kites allow a performance that resembles dancing or ballet and they are often correographed to music. Sky will be bringing a Quadline Kite that I can only describe as, amazing! This is a must see!

Sky and his wife are from Austin Texas where they run their business, Kite Demos and their other ventures. They have been with the Texas kiting community and the International Kite Industry for over 12 years. Sky has traveled from coast to coast and had opportunities to travel to Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China, Japan, and Malaysia making Kite Flying Presentations.

We are so excited to have them at our event and hope that you are too! Stay tuned for more details!

Cinco de Mayo

The Mercer House Family Resource Centers held a Cinco de Mayo party along with their Passport to Success Celebration earlier this month. We had a great turn out and had tons of fun! The celebration was held at Frontier Middle School and the whole community was invited.

Their were great family activities, a pinata, and free dinner.

We are glad to report that the Passport to Success program will continue next school year! If you would like more information on the Resource Centers or the Passport to Success Program please contact Traci Gardner at 258-7598 or Ami Houck at 315-4109.

2009 Mercer House Kite Festival

Come join the Mercer House as we celebrate families with our First Annual Kite Festival. Casper Balloon Group and Mercer House have teamed up to provide families with a day of fun filled activities on July 25, 2009 at Murane Park. The day will start with a hot air balloon launch at 6 :00am followed by the Kite Festival from10:00AM-4:00PM. The festival will include fun activities for kids such as kite making, bubbles, face painting and more! The fun filled day will end with entertainment in the evening and a hot air balloon glow at dusk. For information on Volunteering or Sponsoring this event please contact the Mercer House at 265-7366.

Mercer House is “leading families to new heights!”