Bean Bags, Bird Calls, and Brand New Friends: Stratton Meadows' 2nd Cornhole Tournament

On a sunny Saturday in Meadows Park, 17 neighbors gathered for the second annual Stratton Meadows Cornhole Tournament, hosted by Hey Neighbor's Executive Director Kelly Bull and her neighbor Nikki Fetterhoff.

Some folks showed up because they'd been personally invited. Others happened to be at the park and got pulled into the fun. One of those lucky walk-ups was 10-year-old Jordan, who lit up at the invitation: "Oh, I love cornhole. I used to play with my grandpa all the time!" Spoiler alert: Jordan ended up on the winning team!

Two other walk-ups, teenagers Sammy and Angelo, jumped in to help set up the boards. Their willingness to pitch in earned them the official "Most Helpful" award: free Slurpee coupons from 7-Eleven and garlic knot vouchers from Parry's Pizza.

To kick things off, neighbors put on nametags and drew cards to find their random partners. Each card had the phonetic spelling of a bird call, and teammates had to find each other by making the sound. One pair quacked their way across the grass like ducks. Another hooted like owls until they found each other. The icebreaker set the tone: silly, friendly, and refreshingly low pressure.

As bean bags started flying, friendships started forming. Neighborly competition turned into friendly banter. Strangers became familiar faces. After three rounds of play, the power team of Kelly and Jordan took the win, earning $50 gift cards to Cerberus Brewing Company and Restaurant (thanks to Exponential Impact's SPICE grant!).

The truth is, it doesn't take much to build community in your neighborhood. Sometimes it's as simple as tossing a bean bag back and forth.

Picture of the winners of the event Kelly and Jordan!

Hosting a table for 150 Tables Across COS? A cornhole board could be the perfect accessory to help your guests connect. We also have a cornhole toolkit and boards to rent that make it easy. Click here for the links to 150 Tables, toolkit and rentals]