A screenshot from CaptnFog’s Youtube channel.
A highly entertaining Saturday tradition at Clark Park will be put on hold indefinitely. The weekly Capture the Flag game at the park, which has delighted and puzzled park visitors for a decade, has been suspended.
The company that runs the game and supplies foam swords, knives and bow and arrows – Epic Adventurez – will host the game at other locations in the city. The company has used the Clark Park gathering to help recruit participants for its larger events, annual summer camps and to keep its community of players active in the fall and winter months. But participation has been declining and the company is losing money on the swords and other weapons it supplies to players for a $5 donation, said Epic Adventurez Robert Bedford in an e-mail.
The game drew as many as 80 people in its early years, but Bedford said the game hasn’t drawn that many players in “quite some time.”
Bedford said he hopes Capture the Flag (CTF) will return this spring. He writes: “We do not think this will be the end of Clark Park CTF, we hope we can reorganize, and eventually resupply in order to provide the equipment necessary to encourage the level of play we desire.”
For those in the neighborhood who can’t go a weekend without it, there will be Capture the Flag games at Allens Lane Art Center in Mt. Airy on Sundays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bedford said he’s also looking to establish a game on Saturdays in Morris Park, near 66th and Sherwood, in the Overbrook neighborhood.
February 5th, 2013 at 2:36 pm
FYI, the CTF game in Mt. Airy is 1:30 to 4:30 on Sundays, not on Saturdays. I think their plan is to start a Saturday game in Overbrook.
February 5th, 2013 at 2:52 pm
That is sad. I was wondering what happened last week. For neighborhood families for whom a trek to Mt Airy is not possible, let’s encourage our kids to head to Clark Park anyway. If they have some foam weaponry, great, if they don’t, that’s great too. Just because the company isn’t officially hosting it doesn’t mean neighborhood kids can’t continue this tradition.
February 5th, 2013 at 2:53 pm
My kids have LOVED going to CTF for years – they’ll be soooo sad to see it go. We might check out the Overbrook game. CTF has been a great outlet for kids in West Philly, and many will not be able to make it to the other areas hosting the event. We hope CTF makes it back to Clark Park – perhaps we can do some fundraising for Epic Adventurez, or help encourage more consistent donations to help them keep equipment in good shape.
February 5th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Too bad, seemed like a great idea! They could do a better job publicizing themselves though: For a newcomer walking through the park it wasn’t clear exactly what was going on, other than it looked really fun.
February 5th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
If there’s a fundraiser, we would GLADLY donate to keep this going in Clark Park! Although we don’t have children and haven’t gotten into the game ourselves, it’s such a great thing for neighborhood kids and I love the activity that it brings to our park!
February 5th, 2013 at 5:17 pm
Folks, you’re allowed to play in the park without someone sanctioning it. There are these things on the ground called “sticks”. They make great pretend swords. No need to take your kids to Mount Airy or Overbrook so they can play in a park.
February 5th, 2013 at 6:27 pm
Good luck getting kids who don’t know each other well to not hurt each other while playing sword-fighting with *sticks* and no experienced adults around to keep the game fair and safe. The foam swords and rules of fairplay were essential to making CTF fun for so many kids of varying ages, sizes, and skill levels.
February 5th, 2013 at 8:14 pm
We want everybody to know that finances were not the only thing that led to this decision. There were issues with how the event was carried out and the primary staff member not fulfilling their responsibilities. In addition, there were issues with the area itself as well as certain players who came to the event. We are thrilled to see that people want to help with a fundraiser but money was not the only issue.