Opinion: Encourage those who try

Erin' it Out

At least once a month, I see a post somewhere on Facebook complaining that there’s nothing for kids to do in Creston. I get it. As someone who enjoys big cities, it can be hard to not have all the activities you want to do in the area. However, the people of Creston are trying.

I feel like nearly every day I hear about an event or new venture someone in the community is working on. Looking at Uptown Creston alone, there are multiple organizations working to provide fun and free activities.

Creston Arts is constantly offering different demonstrations and workshops for community members of various ages to enjoy. Along with their summer art camps, July held a beginner-friendly patriotic art workshop, a poetry and story-telling course, a pottery workshop, an art journaling class, a watercoloring workshop and the group’s monthly poetry club. They also host an artist in residence, who performs demonstrations on their work, and have a constantly changing art gallery in the Restored Depot. This is all just in the month of July.

Moving a couple blocks down the street, you can find the Gibson Memorial Library. Along with the obvious books to check out, the library works hard to have different programs for community members of all ages. Some programs occur weekly, like a crochet group, a Magic the Gathering session and toddler time. During the summer, the library’s Summer Reading Program means there are exciting free events every week.

Last Friday, there was the National Sour Candy Day Program, where kids ages eight and older were able to try various sour candies. This week saw a coding challenge for kids and tweens, a movie night tonight (check out “Before I Fall), chair strength training and yoga for older patrons later this week, as well as an art project for teens creating puzzle piece monograms.

We might not have a mall, but we do have a number of boutiques and other fun stores, like The Latest Edition Bookstore and Greens and Things plan shop.

Sure, none of these are a full day at a giant children’s museum or a trip to Adventureland, but that’s not what small towns are. People here are actively trying to provide experiences for the kids of the community. Outside of Uptown, we have the city pool, a skate park, a family fun center with a bowling alley and indoor mini golf. The lake is being dredged so people can swim and fish in it, while UCDA just held a workshop to improve trails in the county.

This year, the Creston Chamber of Commerce even tried to bring back an old classic for the Fourth of July celebrations: a carnival. It wasn’t the greatest and grandest carnival the city has ever seen, but it never claimed to be and was the only one that has taken a chance on this town in decades. It was also the only one our small town could afford at the moment.

I get it, having a bigger carnival with exciting rides would be nice. So would a movie theater, a zoo, an escape room or axe throwing. But we’re not there yet. Before we can bring more stuff into the community, we have to support what we do have. We need to encourage the people that stick their head out and try something new, even if it’s not as great or exciting as we want it to be.

Progress and excitement take work and money. Rather than complaining that something new in town isn’t as good as you thought it would be, support it so it can grow into a bigger, grander thing. At least they’re trying.

Erin Henze

Originally from Wisconsin, Erin is a recent graduate from UW-Stevens Point. Outside of writing, she loves to read and travel.