Last Saturday, the island organization Journeymen hosted a fundraiser adventure course at the Open Space to benefit a scholarship fund so their program for boys is more accessible to low-income families. Called The Gauntlet, the course was designed for all ages and represented the hero’s journey in pursuit of positive transformation.

Alex Craighead, Journeymen program director and physical education teacher at Chautauqua Elementary School, said the event was “just a day of people coming together in the community, not just family or friends, but people stepping out of their comfort zones and really bridging the generational gap we see in our culture.”

During one of the challenge courses, participants were tasked with constructing natural shelters using limited resources, which were later tested for their structural integrity by spraying them down with a hose. Another exercise involved pairs of young children and adults building fires together.

“Watching 5-year-olds helping 50-year-olds build a fire, it was really special and definitely one of the more engaging elements [of the day],” said Craighead.

He added that over 200 people attended, coming from as far as Seattle, Tacoma and Issaquah.